Why are people not buying Kate Middleton's defence for 'editing' family photo?
Doubts linger after Kate Middleton's apology for 'edited' family photo sparks controversy. Netizens question the what's the need for editing.
On Monday, Kate Middleton has issued an apology for the ‘edited’ family image that led to its removal by several news outlets.
She apologized for “any confusion” caused by the image, lensed by her husband, Prince William, and disseminated on Sunday in observance of Mother’s Day in the UK.
On Monday morning, the Princess of Wales posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
Kate's office had hoped that her Monday statement taking personal responsibility for photoshopping the image of her and her children would put an end to the episode. However, the situation escalated when global photo agencies denounced the image as “manipulated” hours later.
This act of contrition on social media, posted with a ‘C’ for Catherine, came in the wake of leading photo agencies such as AP and Reuters retracting the photo due to allegations of manipulation.
ALSO READ| X user believes Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo was edited using pic from 2016 Vogue photoshoot
The Times of London reported on the behind-the-scenes thinking, revealing Kate's distress over the controversy, especially involving her children. The report stated, “Upset at the way in which the image, particularly one which involved her children, had been mired in controversy and alarmed at the way in which news agencies issued ‘kill notices,’ a shaken princess told aides that she wanted to make amends and claim responsibility for her mistake.”
The original intention was for the image to serve as a heartwarming Mother's Day post, and provide reassurance about her health during her recovery from abdominal surgery.
Netizens do not believe any words of Kate's
Despite Kate's confirmation to aides that she had doctored the image, netizens, in particular, seem unconvinced by her defence.
While the palace says it's an innocent photo-editing, but many raised is it really believable Britain's future Queen is a part-time photo retoucher? Why does she look completely different from her last photo when she was spotted by the paparazzi? And where is her wedding ring?
“Where is Princess Kate? Why is she editing her own photos for press releases? Why did she edit out her wedding ring? Why is there a PR run for the mistress? Why are all the “new pap photos” grainy and unrecognizable?? WHAT IS HAPPENING??” one user asked on X.
“I am struggling to believe that the most famous royal family in the world - and the woman who would be queen - fiddled around with photoshop and put out a family pic (designed to quash rumours about her whereabouts) without anyone in the ranks inspecting it. Nah. Not buying it,” another one posted.
“That photo is most likely an AI composite. I don't think she had anything to do with editing it,” one user tried to back her.
ALSO READ| Kate Middleton exits Windsor for ‘personal appointment’ after Mother's Day snafu
Another one speculated, “I think we are gonna get a statement saying that William and Kate are divorcing. Charles & Diana’s separation lasted 4 years before the divorce. They don’t want that playing out in public AGAIN so by the time they tell us it will all be hashed out.”
One user asked, “Is the Royal Family lying to us about Kate Middleton’s condition?” while discarding the edited photo notion.
“Actually, to those of us with a background in graphic design, these errors are really amateur. Zoom right in: there are multiple coloured circles where no coloured circles should be. And once you’ve seen it, you can’t unsee it,” a eagle eyed user criticizes Kate for the poor editing.
Some think it's just a cover-up: “There’s a very serious cover-up of Kate Middleton’s condition going on right now.”