Princess Kate ‘reassuring’ Mother’s Day image ‘done completely opposite’, says royal biographer
A major American broadcaster has now begun reviewing all Kensington Palace handout photos as the Princess of Wales feels “shaken” over the doctored picture at the centre of an escalating royal row.
CNN revealed it has been forced to make the move after Kate Middleton publicly apologised and admitted to releasing an edited family photo of herself and her three children for Mother’s Day.
Within hours of the palace sharing it on social media, international picture agencies began recalling the image, citing fears it had been “manipulated”, as eagle-eyed royal fans pointed out numerous editing concerns.
Despite coming under pressure to repair the PR damage caused by the controversy, the palace refused to release the original unedited photo.
In a damning analysis of the furore, CNN said the image had been issued for editorial purposes and media organisations “expect those images to be accurate”. The broadcaster said they “regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image”.
The princess said she had just “tried to make it the best it could be” because she knew how important it was for it to be “a nice picture”, a royal insider told The Times.
ICYMI – Everything ‘wrong’ with Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photo as princess admits it was edited
A family photo released for Mother’s Day is at the centre of a royal row sparked over concerns it had been “manipulated”.
Read the full story here…
Lydia Patrick13 March 2024 13:00
Kate Gate: How technology is changing photography forever
However, this ability to manipulate photos is not new – and fake photos are practically as old as photography itself.
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 12:00
Stop ‘mum-shaming’ Kate Middleton for editing her family photo
Now, I don’t blame her for “manipulating” the image (which is what led to it being “killed” by multiple major photo agencies). I’ve done it myself. Anybody in their right mind, who has young kids, knows how utterly impossible it is to get them to even look in the same direction – let alone to stay still.
There’s so much pressure on mums like me to be perfect on Instagram – and the Princess of Wales has the whole world watching.
Charlotte Cripps reports:
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 11:00
Kensington Palace silent after agencies pull first image of Kate after surgery
Buckingham Palace remained silent last night after Getty, Associated Press, Reuters and AFP removed the image and advised clients to remove it from all their platforms.
The picture, taken by Prince William in Windsor this week, was released by the royal family to mark Mother’s Day and showed Kate smiling surrounded by her three children.
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 10:00
CNN to review all Kensington Palace handout photos
A major American broadcaster has now begun reviewing all Kensington Palace handout photos as the royal row over a picture doctored by the Princess of Wales continues to escalate.
CNN revealed it has been forced to make the move after Kate Middleton publicly apologised and admitted to releasing an edited family photo of herself and her three children for Mother’s Day.
In a damning analysis of the furore, the channel said the image had been issued for editorial purposes and media organisations “expect those images to be accurate”.
They added that they “regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image” because this “would alter the reality of the situation the image is intended to document”.
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 09:49
Why photo agencies pulled Kate Middleton’s mothers day photo
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 09:00
Everything ‘wrong’ with Mother’s Day photo as Kate admits it was edited
A family photo released for Mother’s Day is at the centre of a royal row sparked over concerns it had been “manipulated”.
Tara Cobham13 March 2024 08:09
Kate photo: Why the controversy over editing and manipulation could be just the beginning
The post made no mention of how the edits had actually been made – what changes had been made, or what software had been used to make them. While it has led to much speculation about artificial intelligence, there is nothing to indicate that it was or wasn’t used in the image.
But the suggestion that it was edited in the same way that “many amateur photographers” do could be a hint at the fact that changed images are becoming increasingly prevalent – and increasingly convincing. There is a long history of misleading images, but they have never been so easy to create as they are now.
Indeed, edited images are now so commonplace that the people taking them might not even realise that they are doing so. New phones and other cameras include technology that tries to improve pictures – but can also be changing them in unknown ways.
Our technology editor Andrew Griffin reports:
Andy Gregory13 March 2024 06:59
Meghan Markle defamation case brought by her half-sister dismissed by judge
A defamation case brought against Meghan Markle by her half-sister, Samantha Markle, has been dismissed by a judge in Florida.
Samantha Markle, 59, brought the legal action over comments Meghan, 42, made to Oprah Winfrey and on her Netflix show, Harry And Meghan.
She will now not be able to refile the case as Florida judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell dismissed it with prejudice.
Kevin E G Perry has more in this report:
Andy Gregory13 March 2024 05:18