From Princess Charlotte’s wonky wrist to Kate Middleton’s missing wedding ring, eagle-eyed armchair detectives have pointed to at least 10 clues that the family’s first post-surgery photo had been doctored.
And on Monday, their suspicions were confirmed when the Princess of Wales issued an apology for any “confusion” sparked by the image, saying: “I do occasionally experiment with editing.”
Prior to Kate’s confession, online sleuths raised questions about several odd aspects of the photo that showed the smiling British royal surrounded by her children — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
The world’s leading news agencies reacted to the controversy by swiftly yanking the image over doctoring fears.
One major telltale sign of manipulation was that a portion of Charlotte’s wrist seems to be missing from under the chopped-off sleeve of her cardigan.
“It looks like a bad Photoshop job,” Dr. Hany Farid, a professor of computer sciences at the University of California Berkeley, told the Telegraph.
Charlotte’s checkered skirt likewise does not line up, with the right edge sticking out at a strange right angle and overlapping with George’s hands.
Additionally, a green line seen on Charlotte’s left leg clad in tights appears to suggest it has been airbrushed.
Breaking down Kate Middleton's Photoshop fail
- On Monday, Kensington Palace released a new photo and statement from Kate Middleton for UK Mother’s Day. Eagle-eyed fans immediately saw the photo — showing Kate surrounded by her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — was littered with mistakes, either from Photoshop or AI.
- The photo, the original of which Kensington Palace refuses to release, was quickly recalled by photo agencies over fears it had been digitally “manipulated.”
- Middleton issued an apology Monday after her photo went viral for its numerous Photoshop errors. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said.
- One major telltale sign of manipulation was that a portion of Charlotte’s wrist seems to be missing from under the chopped-off sleeve of her cardigan. Charlotte’s checkered skirt likewise does not line up, with the right edge sticking out at a strange right angle and overlapping with George’s hands.
- Another unusual detail that raised questions about the image’s veracity is Prince Louis’ crossed fingers on his right hand — and a seemingly fuzzy and broken pattern on the right sleeve of his gray sweater.
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Another unusual detail that raised questions about the image’s veracity is Prince Louis’s crossed fingers on his right hand — and a seemingly fuzzy and broken pattern on the right sleeve of his gray sweater.
It has also been noted that the table next to which the youngster is standing appears to have a distorted edge.
Others raised an alarm about the fact that Kate, who has been married to Prince William for nearly 13 years, is not wearing her Welsh gold wedding band or her famous sapphire engagement ring in the image.
Some observers have speculated that the princess may have removed her rings ahead of her abdominal surgery in January and has yet to put the rings back on due to post-op swelling.
But the lack of jewelry on Kate’s left hand is not the only issue: Her right hand embracing Prince Louis looks to be strikingly blurry, standing out against the dark fabric of his sweater.
A further detail that raised some eyebrows is the presence of leaves on a tree glimpsed in the background in early March.
And that was not the only background catch: Some eagle-eyed commenters spotted blurring in a white windowsill seen just behind Louis’ left shoulder.
A royal source claimed that Kate had wanted to post an informal picture of her family taken by Prince William in Windsor last week and had made minor adjustments to it.
Journliast Piers Morgan called on Kensington Palace to release the unedited photo of the princess and her children “asap.”
“If it’s just a small bit of harmless retouching gone wrong, nobody will care,” the veteran journalist wrote on X Monday. “If they don’t release the original pic, the conspiracy theories they were trying to kill, will get way worse.”
The princess’s two-month absence from the public eye has sparked wild speculation about her health and marriage. If the palace meant to put an end to the rumors swirling around the royal family by releasing the image, it had the exact opposite effect.
Kate took to X early Monday to apologize for the kerfuffle sparked by the snap unveiled on Sunday in honor of the British Mother’s Day.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Kate wrote. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
The royal’s mea culpa came after some of the world’s leading news agencies, among them Getty, Reuters, the Associated Press and AFP and the Press Association, withdrew the family portrait over concerns about digital doctoring, saying it did not meet their editorial standards.
