The photo posted on Motherās Day by Kate Middleton is still causing a stir because it was unpublished shorty after due to editing.
āProfessional photographer here. Look closely at Princess Charlotteās wrist. This is what happens when you composite layers in Photoshop. Iām not speculating on why the photo was edited like this, but itās weird,ā portrait photographer Martin Bamford wrote onĀ X.Ā
The Princess took āthe blameā for manipulating the photo.
On her and Williamās officialĀ XĀ account, she wrote, āLike 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 Motherās Day. C.ā
Kensington Palace later confirmed it āwould not be reissuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.ā
The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse all decided to issue ākill notices,ā which are advisory notices to remove or not use a specific photo.
āIt appears that the source has manipulated the image,ā the Associated Press notification read.
They also released a statement, saying, āThe Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet APās photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotteās left hand.ā
According to royal expert Katie Nicholl, the Palace would be under much pressure followingĀ the issue with the photo.
āWhatās so major in all of this is that four international picture agencies have killed this image. Thatās really rare,ā Nicholl said.
āI canāt think of a a time since Iāve been doing this job for the best part of 15 years where a royal image has been recalled. So thatās highly unusual. It might force Kensington Palaceās hand.ā
Speaking on BBC Radio 4āsĀ Media Show, Phil Chetwynd, AFPās global news director, said that Kensington Palace is no longer a trusted source.
āNo, absolutely not. Like with anything, when youāre let down by a source the bar is raised ā¦ We sent out notes to all our teams at the moment to be absolutely super more vigilant about the content coming across our desk ā even from what we would call trusted sources,ā he said, as reported byĀ Deadline.
He added that kill notices are usually reserved for sources such as North Korea.
āTo kill something on the basis of manipulation [is rare. We do it] once a year maybe, I hope less. The previous kills weāve had have been from the North Korean news agency or the Iranian news agency,ā Chetwynd added.
āOne thing thatās really important is you cannot be distorting reality for the public. Thereās a question of trust. And the big issue here is one of trust, and the lack of trust and the falling trust of the general public in institutions generally and in the media. And so itās extremely important that a photo does represent broadly the reality that itās seen in,ā he concluded.
The issue with the edited image only added fuel to the fire because both Kate and the Palace have already been accused of not providing information regarding her health and her whereabouts.
Arthur Edwards,Ā The Sunās royal photographerĀ said the Princess of Wales has learned a ātough and very public lessonā breaking the āgolden rule.ā
āItās a golden rule that while you can crop a picture, you never, ever interfere with the image itself. Kate shouldnāt have done it, and she was right to put her hand up and admit to her mistake so quickly,ā Edwards said, adding that social media have been overflowing with ādisgusting bile and hateful comments about her.ā
āNow the conspiracies are flying thick and fast ā not that these people need any encouragement. These cheap shots at Kate will be upsetting for her.ā
According to some experts, among which Edwards, the Palace could have put a stop to the speculations had they released the unedited version of the photo.
āBut of course this comes amid all the speculation as to whatās happening with Kate, who, bar a brief picture yesterday and last week, none of us has seen since December. So many people ā myself included ā have been eager for an update on the Princess of Walesās health since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.ā
Edwards added, āA bodged attempt at photographic manipulation may have been, but I still think itās a delightful image. Kate looks radiant and so proud on Motherās Day, surrounded by her loving kids. Itās full of uplifting love and emotion.ā
Speaking toĀ Fox,Ā royal expert Hilary FordwichĀ said the palace is responsible for what she calls āyet another public relations disaster.ā
āThe certainty is that a āslimmed down monarchyā means fewer are guiding the royals and those who are arenāt as media savvy as they need to be,ā Fordwich said. āIn our fast-paced world with tech-savvy media outlets, the palaces need to hire the best and brightest in such fields.
āWhile this certainly isnāt ābusiness as usualā nor what we would expect from a royal householdā¦ it shows great humility to admit oneās mistakes,ā Fordwich continued. āOthers might have either remained silent or tried to blame another. Kate issued a straight-up, no-nonsense apology. Many could learn a lesson from such.ā
The question that raises is whether the Palace is doing enough to protect Kate Middleton, and according to royal expert and author Tom Bower, they are not.
āPeople around the world just want to bring her down because it gives them pleasure. And then, when she did, they should have got a professional photographer in to make sure there were no hiccups like has now occurred,ā Bower toldĀ The Sun.
He continued: āSheās undergone the most very serious operation imaginable. She needs a long time to recover. And I fear that she has been under terrible pressure to perform and instead of protecting her, her staff in Kensington Palace, failed to give her the support and protection she needs.ā
Further, Bower believes that the Palaceās main focus should be help Kate recover completely instead of releasing more images.
āThere are republicans and mischief makers who want to do everything now, to destroy the monarchy, to destroy Britain as it is today, who donāt share our values and see Kate as a soft target, an easy target and another target to seek to undermine British values and British tradition,ā he added.
On March 22, Kate Middleton finally put a stop to the conspiracy theories when she posted a video in which she disclosed with the public that sheās receiving treatments for cancer.
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