Photo of Queen Elizabeth taken by Kate Middleton has been altered, agency says

Another official photograph involving Catherine, Princess of Wales, was digitally manipulated, according to a leading photo agency, sparking a second controversy over royal retouching as Kate was seen in public for the first time in months.

Getty Images said the photograph of Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by Kate and released by Kensington Palace last year, had been “digitally enhanced”, and an analysis of the CNN found signs of change in up to 19 places.

Something similar happened with a photograph of Catherine and her children on Mother's Day, supposedly taken by Prince William, which was also retouched. Seeking to calm the uproar that followed the first edited photo, Kate apologized and stated last Monday (11) that she liked to “experiment” with image editing.

Newly discovered inconsistencies in a second royal photograph put Kate at the center of even more questions and threaten to destroy the royal's relationships with major news and photography agencies.

It's a controversy the Welsh will not accept, coming amid a period of intense scrutiny over the princess's health and condition.

On Saturday (16), Prince William and Kate were seen and photographed at a farm shop near their home, assuaging questions about their health.

The princess was also photographed earlier this month inside her private car leaving Windsor Castle while attending a private gathering on March 11, Kensington Palace previously told CNN .

She had not been seen in public since the palace said she had abdominal surgery in January.

The most recent controversy centers on a photograph published in April 2023, which shows the Queen – who died in September 2022 – surrounded by 10 of her young family members.

The palace said the image was taken by Kate at Balmoral Castle in Scotland months before the queen's death, but corrections have led to confusion over whether the image was in fact stitched together from several different photos.

Inconsistencies in the Balmoral photo include a misalignment in the Queen's skirt and blanket and in the sofa on which she is sitting. Princess Charlotte's hair strands appear to have been cloned, while the edge of Prince Louis' shoulder is blurred and appears to overlap the background. The lighting of several royals in the photo also does not match the overall lighting of the image.

Getty said in an editor's note that the image “has been digitally enhanced at source.” A CNN contacted the agency; Kensington Palace declined to comment when contacted on Tuesday.

In a statement to CNN the company said: “Getty Images is conducting a review of flyer images and, in accordance with its editorial policy, is placing an editor's note on images where the source suggested they could be digitally enhanced.”

In Kate's brief apology for the Mother's Day photo, she did not explain why she altered her photographs, nor why Kensington Palace did not disclose her changes to photo agencies.

The rebuke from Getty and others is more than just an embarrassment to the royals.

The family, like countless governments and institutions around the world, depends on agencies to distribute their images to the media. But these companies have strict rules about only allowing minimal edits; By secretly manipulating their photographs in various locations, the royals painted themselves as potential distributors of disinformation.

Getty in particular has long had a close relationship with Kensington Palace; they have frequently been invited to perform royal photo shoots and have sponsored royal events.

Kate is taking a break from public duties as she recovers from surgery, a prolonged absence that has given rise to a series of online conspiracy theories and questions about her health in the British media. Meanwhile, King Charles III has taken on lighter duties after announcing his cancer diagnosis in February.