Four reasons royal watchers believe Princess Kate picture is ‘doctored’
Major picture agencies have pulled the first official photo of Kate following her surgery. These are the issues that caught the attention of eagle-eyed royal watchers.
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Major international picture agencies have pulled the first official photo of the Princess of Wales following her abdominal surgery over concerns it was “manipulated”.
The Associated Press, AFP, Getty Images and Reuters, who had all distributed the new family photo from Kensington Palace, pulled it from their systems on Monday with AP explaining “at closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image”.
The photo was taken by Prince William and shared to celebrate Mother’s Day. It was also the first time Kate had spoken out publicly since her “planned” operation in January.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” Kate wrote in the caption of the photo, which was also shared to the couple’s official Instagram account.
But soon after publication, eagle-eyed royal watchers spotted the following issues.
Charlotte’s missing sleeve
The most talked about aspect of the image is Princess Charlotte’s hand and sleeve.
There appears to be a piece of her red sleeve missing in the portrait by her left hand.
It was enough to be specifically called out by AP.
“The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand,” the agency told The Telegraph.
Royal fans have also pointed out the other side of Charlotte’s skirt looks off, which appears to slightly overlap her brother George’s hand.
The picture’s background
ITV News royal editor Chris Ship shared a series of cropped sections of the photo on X, formerly Twitter, of what “appears to be the issues”, including a close up of the background behind Prince Louis’ right leg.
The panel on the building behind Kate and her children is not straight.
“I’ve never been much of a conspiracy theorist but if @AP @AFP @Reuters & other picture agencies are concerned enough to remove it and ask clients to delete it, there are serious questions for Kensington Palace – which was the source of the photo,” Ship wrote.
Other Brits on social media have questioned whether the photo could be recent given the green leafy tree in the background.
It has been winter in England, with spring only beginning in March.
“This tree looks autumn, not spring. I don’t think this photo is current,” one person wrote.
“Not a single tree in my garden has a leaf yet,” another added.
However, some Londoners came to the Palace’s defence, stating it was a shrub and not all trees were bare this time of year.
The tiles on the ground by Louis’ feet have also been described as odd looking.
Louis’ patterned jumper
Charlotte’s jumper was not the only one causing people to zoom in.
Ship, and others, have drawn attention to the pattern not looking quite right on the right shoulder of Louis’ green jumper.
One fan wrote: “The first thing I noticed was the right arm of Louis’ jumper. The pattern goes wrong.”
Kate’s blurry hand
Royal watchers were quick to point out the fact Kate’s wedding ring could not be seen on her left hand, but it was the fact her right hand hugging Louis was blurry that had people claiming Photoshop was involved.
“Ummmmm, this photo looks doctored … Catherine’s right hand around Louis is entirely blurry but the left hand around Charlotte, at the same distance to the camera, is not, and either is Louis’ jumper around the hand blurry,” one comment with more than 1600 likes in support read.
Others claimed the hands were a giveaway the image was created using AI.
“Note to the palace, AI is notorious for messing up hands …” one person wrote.
The new portrait of the Princess of Wales comes amid many conspiracy theories online surrounding her whereabouts.
After a two-month disappearance from the public eye, Kate was seen for the first time since her January operation last week.
She was in the passenger seat as her mum Carole drove her near Windsor Castle.
The last time the Princess was seen in public was Christmas Day, December 25 last year, when she and husband Prince William took their three children to a church service.
The British press has reported Kensington Palace has refused to comment on the allegations the newly released photo has been manipulated.
Some supporters labelled it the “perfect photo” and shared their joy at seeing the Princess after her surgery, criticising those pointing out the flaws in the image.
Originally published as Four reasons royal watchers believe Princess Kate picture is ‘doctored’
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