‘The wheels are coming off’: Palace in crisis after Photoshop fail

Once a super slick operation, Kensington Palace’s PR team is in crisis over the Princess of Wales’ health.

What has happened to the super slick PR team at Kensington Palace?

The dream team that oversaw royal weddings, royal births and who can forget the Fab Four?

It would not be an easy task for even the most talented public relations specialist to spin the disappearance of the Princess of Wales from public life for a number of months while recovering from a mystery health issue.

But the response to the media furore following the release of Kate’s Photoshopped Mother’s Day image can only be described as a bungle.

The Mother’s Day picture was pulled by several picture agencies due to “manipulation”.

Press officers’ phones began ringing off the hook when picture agencies pulled the sweet image of Kate with the three children citing manipulation.

Admittedly it was only after the image had been released that online sleuths noticed there was something peculiar about it.

Part of Princess Charlotte’s sleeve was missing and Kate was not wearing her wedding ring.

Journalists received no answer when trying to ring the press office, the “surest sign of crisis talks”, according to the Daily Mail’s royal editor.

Journalists still hadn’t received an answer until the next morning and by this time the hysteria was out of control.

Wild speculation has swirled online since Kate’s surgery. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Joe Little of Majesty Magazine said the situation “could have been handled better”.

“An earlier response would have been beneficial”, he said.

“It is interesting that no one checked the images before they went out.”

Kensington Palace did respond on Monday morning with a message from Kate who took full responsibility for the picture.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said.

“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.”

It was the first public statement the Princess had made since Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that she had been admitted to hospital for “planned abdominal surgery” and would not be returning to public duties until at least Easter.

The palace said they would only provide updates on Kate’s progress when “there is significant new information to share”.

Kate hasn’t been seen since Christmas Day. (Photo by Samir Hussein/WireImage)

However, according to one royal insider, sharing a picture was a significant update as it showed Kate in good health.

“The palace did always say, ‘We’re not going to give you any health updates on [Kate’s] condition. She’s going to have this operation, and she’ll be back,’” Tina Brown, author of the book The Palace Papers, told CBS.

“She is indeed [entitled to privacy] and should have it. The problem is that when you released the picture, it is a health update. The picture is a health update saying, ‘Look at me, look at us, I’m perfectly fine.’ So, of course the world descends on that picture to dissect it.”

Ms Brown said the spectacular PR own goal could be down to a “staffing transition” at Kensington Palace.

“It’s possible that this was a transitional bad staffing situation, where no one is really properly paying attention, but clearly the public is going to look at a hand with no wedding ring and say, ‘Where is it?’” Ms Brown said.

Kate is said to be deeply upset by the online reaction to the Photoshop incident. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP)

“I think that the wheels are coming off in terms of the sort of press situation there at the palace.”

Wild theories have circulated online about Princess Kate’s disappearance from the public eye, including that she has had a Brazilian butt lift and that she is in a coma.

Other theories are unprintable.

The speculation is said to have “deeply upset” the Princess.

But Ms Brown said that a public relations problem could not be remedied by retreating from the public eye.

“This old idea, really, that you can completely disappear, it just doesn’t work. It didn’t work in [Princess] Diana’s day,” she said.

“I do think [Kate] clearly feels ill and depleted, and she wants this time. But I also think, you know, there’s been so much strain and stress on her. She’s been trying to say, ‘Can I just recover quietly and in peace?’ just like Diana tried. And they won’t let you do it.”