Kate Middleton Conspiracies Explode Amid Serious Fake Photo-Op Accusations
It looks like the mystery surrounding Catherine, Princess of Wales is no closer to being resolved. Kensington Palace released Kate Middleton's first family photo since her surgery earlier this year on Sunday, March 10, which is the Mother's Day holiday in the United Kingdom. William, Prince of Wales, is credited as the photographer, and Kate herself wrote the caption, wishing fans a happy holiday and thanking them for their "kind wishes and continued support." However, social media followers were quick to scrutinize the post and noticed some odd details seeming to indicate the photo of the princess and her children wasn't what it appeared to be. Rumors of Photoshop tweaking — or even total fabrication through AI — flooded the internet.
In response, several news agencies abruptly pulled the picture from circulation the same day. Among them was the Associated Press, which reported on its website, "AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards." The BBC reported that Kensington Palace would not comment on the controversy.
The agency specifically mentioned concerns about the appearance of Princess Charlotte in the photo. She is seen sitting on the left arm of the chair next to her mother with her hands in her lap. Zooming in on the image shows her left wrist appears to be out of sync with the cuff of her red sweater. Viewers have pointed out other inconsistencies, as well.
The princess' photo is going viral for the wrong reasons
The Mother's Day photo of Kate Middleton and her children might just as well be called Sleevegate. In addition to the odd appearance of Princess Charlotte's wrist, other details pointed out online include her right foot twisted awkwardly behind her left leg, and a mysterious black object appearing between her waist and arm. Prince Louis' hands look equally unnatural; one hand has a strange finger-crossing, and the other appears superimposed around the arm of his mother's chair. A crease in Louis' pants appears to make his leg misshapen. As for the future queen herself, the absence of any jewelry — especially her wedding ring — has sparked more rumors about Kate Middleton's health crisis. Has she lost so much weight since her abdominal surgery that her rings have to be resized?
Adding to the controversy is the news agencies' assertion the alleged manipulation was done by "the source," which in this case would be the palace. Were they trying to make a few minor aesthetic tweaks, or did they actually patch together the whole portrait to cover up a more troubling situation? Whatever the case, this new twist in the royal drama is raising even more questions than before. "I'm not generally into conspiracy theories, but this Kate Middleton photo has got me feeling like a flat earther," said a commenter on X (formerly Twitter).
At this writing, the kerfuffle-inducing post is still up on the Wales' Instagram and X accounts, while royal followers await further developments.
The palace isn't offering answers
Per BBC News, news agencies such as the Associated Press and Reuters operate by a code of conduct regarding use of images. They publish only original and unretouched photos, and if an image has been digitally altered, the outlets post a statement indicating as much. In the case of the disputed Kate Middleton image, the AP and others had doubts about its authenticity, but since the palace had presented it as untouched, the agencies "killed" it from their coverage, ordering their clients to "please remove it from all platforms, including social, where it may still be visible" (via Chris Ship on X). The agency added that it would not be sending a substitute image.
Kensington Palace has yet to respond to numerous requests for comment on the princess' Mother's Day photo, and the longer the silence continues, the more the speculation is likely to grow. Even Piers Morgan, the conservative British journalist who frequently sides with the traditional royals, remarked on X, "If, as this astounding @AP kill notice claims, the Palace manipulated that Kate photo to quash all the wild conspiracy theories about her, then they'll have just made things 100x worse."