Kate Middleton admits she carried out changes to her own photograph she shared with the world
Major international photo agencies, including Reuters, the Associated Press (AP), Getty Images, and Agence France-Presse (AFP), have withdrawn a recently released photograph of Kate Middleton and her children. The photograph of the Princess of Wales, issued to commemorate Mother’s Day in the UK, has been subjected to a “kill order” due to suspicions that it might have been digitally altered. This directive marks a significant move by these organizations in response to growing concerns over the integrity of published images.
The well-established photo news services took the action before the Princess issued a statement of her own (Monday, 11 March 2024) in which she admitted editing the image, adding “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 controversy surrounding the image, said to have been taken by Prince William, arose shortly after its release. Observers on social media highlighted what they believed to be irregularities that suggested possible manipulation. Notable points of contention included the alignment of clothing and the position of hands.
A number British newspapers today produced diagrams which they said showed some elements of the photograph that had been manipulated.
In reaction to these observations, the AP issued an advisory to its clients, urging them to discontinue the use of the photograph based on a closer inspection that suggested manipulation by the source. Following suit, Reuters, Getty Images, and AFP also removed the image from their libraries, each citing the need to uphold the credibility of their visual content.
The UK-based news agency PA Media this morning also issued a notice to all its clients regarding the image of the princess. In a statement it said: ‘Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday. We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace. In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service.’
Kensington Palace did not initially provide a comment on the allegations of digital manipulation. The initial absence of a response from the Palace left the issue open to speculation and discussion, adding to the existing interest in the princess’s health.
This development has highlighted the vital role of professional independent photo agencies in capturing and vetting the content they distribute, including when it relates to figures of significant public interest such as the British royal family. The unanimous decision by these agencies (each of them a member of the News Media Coalition) to retract the Kate Middleton photograph underscores the importance of authenticity in the dissemination of images by news organisations, at a time when image manipulation softwares are available to everyone and as governments, industry and society grapple with the potential impact on and faith in all forms of content by Artificial Intelligence products and services.
