Kensington Palace not ‘trusted’ after Kate Middleton doctored photo

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The global news director of Agence France-Presse says that Kensington Palace is no longer a “trusted source” after a doctored photo of Kate Middleton was released to the public earlier this week.

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Phil Chetwynd, who heads up AFP, told BBC Radio 4’s Media Show that the agency is reviewing its relationship with the Prince and Princess of Wales and will not accept supplied photos from the royals going forward.

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This development comes after Kate, 42, shared a doctored image alongside her three children — Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5 — to celebrate Mother’s Day.

The picture was released as public interest in Kate’s whereabouts gripped the internet. Until it had hit social media, the Princess of Wales has not been seen publicly since late last year with the palace announcing she was stepping away from her royal duties after undergoing abdominal surgery in January.

When asked by BBC Radio if the palace could still be trusted as a source, Chetwynd replied that it was impossible going forward.

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“No, absolutely not. Like with anything, when you’re let down by a source the bar is raised,” he said. “We sent out notes to all our teams at the moment to be absolutely super more vigilant about the content coming across our desk — even from what we would call trusted sources.”

In the photo, which was shared on Instagram and X, Kate was seen smiling alongside her kids and she also extended her hearty well wishes to other mothers celebrating their special day.

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But online sleuths immediately started to dissect the snap, which was credited to Prince William. For one, Kate wasn’t wearing her wedding ring or any other jewelry.

“PR STUNT GONE wrong again,” one person commented. “No wedding ring, weather is suddenly bright in London with green grass and green leaves even though London don’t look like that right now 😂😂😂😭 A MESSS (sic) do they think people in this generation are that dumb.”

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“That photo of Kate Middleton is so clearly AI,” another person speculated, with another follower describing the drama as “chilling.”

By day’s end on Sunday, four major news wire services — Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, and AFP — had announced they were pulling the photo from their libraries amid concerns it was manipulated.

AP retracted the photo “because at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards.”

“The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand,” the agency added.

Chetwynd said the various news services spoke about their shared concerns over the photo before issuing a “kill notice” on the picture.

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“One thing that’s really important is you cannot be distorting reality for the public. There’s 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 it’s extremely important that a photo does represent broadly the reality that it’s seen in,” he said.

On Monday, Kate apologized for the “confusion” caused by her editing of a family photo.

In a post on social media, Kate said that “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,” her message added.

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But Kensington Palace has resisted calls to share an updated photo showing the unaltered image in its original form.

Chetwynd said that it is rare for agencies to remove a photo after proof it has been doctored.

“To kill something on the basis of manipulation (rarely happens. We do it) once a year maybe … The previous kills we’ve had have been from the North Korean news agency or the Iranian news agency,” he said.

During her absence, the public has obsessed over her disappearance from the royal limelight. After her hospitalization, “Where is Kate?” became an oft-asked question on social media.

Now some people on social media have coined a term for all the Kate-related conspiracy theories surrounding her disappearance: “Katespiracy.”

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As the term trended throughout the week, one person eerily asked: “If you think Kate was the one who edited the picture & knows how to use Photoshop, I have some Blockbuster stores to sell you. The lies have caught up with (the palace) & everything they put out will be heavily scrutinized.”

Rumours that Prince William is having an affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley, have also taken hold, even becoming the subject of Stephen Colbert’s monologue this week.

A former royal courtier told the Daily Beast that the comedian’s jokes were “deeply annoying and unhelpful for the palace.” But they weren’t surprised that the affair rumours have resurfaced. “What else are people supposed to think when she sends out a photo not wearing her wedding ring?”

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“The reality is, now the conspiracy theories have gone into overdrive,” Robert Jobson, an ABC News royal contributor, told Good Morning America. “It’s clearly proved that all that they’ve been saying is true. ‘Where is Kate? Is this really a photograph at all? If they can mess around with Charlotte’s hand, well, how do we know it’s even Kate’s face?’”

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X: @markhdaniell

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