Kensington Palace ignores calls for Princess of Wales’s original family photo to be released

Ongoing controversy about the Princess of Wales doctoring an official image for worldwide release has overshadowed King Charles promising to serve the Commonwealth.

The message from Getty photo agency to remove the image.

Ongoing controversy about the Princess of Wales doctoring an official image for worldwide release has overshadowed King Charles promising to serve the Commonwealth “to the best of my ability” following his cancer diagnosis.

On Monday Kensington Palace ignored widespread calls for the original family photograph to be released to quell growing concern that Catherine - still recuperating after her own major surgery - has photoshopped and edited her own headshot into the heavily-altered Mother’s Day image.

Photo editing analysts have pinpointed how a faint line across the Princess’s chest, as well as soft blurring of her hair on the left hand side indicates her head may have been added into the photo at a later stage, raising further worries about the 42-year-old’s ongoing health.

The photo Kate has apologised for and some of the problem areas.

On a more immediate level the issue of fakery has broken a bond of trust between the palace and the British media on one of the most important days celebrating by the monarchy: Commonwealth Day.

At a Westminster Abbey service to acknowledge 75 year anniversary of the Commonwealth - a collection of nations including Australia - Charles had recorded a video last month saying his faith in the Commonwealth was “as sure and strong as it has ever been”.

He said: “In recent weeks, I have been most deeply touched by your wonderfully kind and thoughtful good wishes for my health and, in return, can only continue to serve you, to the best of my ability, throughout the Commonwealth.”

Charles, 75, mentioned in the recording about inequalities and injustices in what could be an oblique reference to colonial slavery, which particularly impacts the Caribbean nations.

“We must work together to understand each other’s perspectives, including the inequalities and injustices which still resonate to this day,’’ the King said.

“We must find ways of healing, and to support each other to pursue solutions. I cannot say often enough that it is by coming together that we create the best chances to improve our world and the lives of people everywhere.”

The service was led by Queen Camilla and assisted by William, who had been seen leaving the Windsor estate earlier in the day with Catherine also sitting the back seat. However Catherine didn’t attend the service and is not expected at any royal events until after Easter.

Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Queen Camilla and Prince William, Prince of Wales attend the 2024 Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey.

The Palace had hoped to quell a maelstrom of criticism about the photograph, the first official one released of Catherine since Christmas Day morning at Sandringham in Norfolk and her sudden abdominal surgery in January.

On Monday Catherine issued an extremely rare apology 12 hours after the biggest photo agencies in the world issued a rare “kill notice” to recall the supplied Royal picture amid concerns it had been heavily altered.

She said: “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. C”.

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. C

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024

Aides were then keen to stress that only minor adjustments had been made to the “amateur family picture”.

Photo editors have identified at least a dozen errors in the image, with the biggest concern being whether the photo of Catherine - who appears to have a different light source reflecting in her eyes to that of her children - was taken at the same time.

British headlines claimed that the royals had kicked ‘’an own goal”.

There is a long standing arrangement whereby the papers and broadcast outlets refuse to buy paparazzi photographs of the Wales’ and in particular their children, in return for occasional supplied royal photographs on key days such as Sunday’s Mother’s Day and various birthdays.

The media had been even warned off camping outside The London Clinic where Catherine was hospitalised for two weeks with an understanding that a photo opportunity would take place when the Princess felt well enough.

Unlike in Australia where the royal family is a peripheral issue, within Britain there is genuine uneasiness about the health of Catherine and also of Charles.

The photo released by Kensington Palace on Sunday was a ham-fisted effort to quell those national anxieties, but has instead racheted pressure on William to address ongoing concerns about his wife.

Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C

📸 The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024

Photo agencies have strict editorial guidelines about photographs being genuine and without alteration - an important stand given the proliferation of artificial intelligence and photo shop tools.

The metadata of the image supplied to the agencies showed the photograph was saved in photo editing software twice, firstly at 9.54pm on Friday local time and then at 9.39am on Saturday.

The data shows the main image was taken at Adelaide Cottage, the family home on the Windsor Park estate.