Why does it matter of Kate edited the photo??

[whatisheupto]

I feel like I am totally missing the point and I am fed up of being in the dark about it! Please explain it to me!

I genuinely do not know why it matters that Kate tweaked her photo?

Surely the purpose was to edit the usual things that spoil a photo a bit.

Does her editing a photo imply something?

I would have thought they’d be heavily scrutinising everything before they published pics in the first place, surely?

Sure. But they knew about all the fuss that there hadn't been any sightings of Kate etc etc, so any photo put out by the palace would essentially be a 'proof of life' everything's fine statement, not just a simple photo.

Putting out a photo where Kate appears to have been photoshopped in was a big mistake on their part.

Now the Queen had died there isn't as much respect for the royal family as there was. The press probably know exactly what's going on with POW but they aren't allowed to report it but can still stir it up. I feel sorry for her, it probably isn't anywhere near as controversial as is being made out at all and she just wants to keep it private. Where ever she goes for the rest of her life in public cameras will be on her, if she's been struggling with gyno or bowel issues, who wants the world to know that!

So what, they’d just published them without doing any checks on the photos? Sound like their fuck up.

Makes you wonder what other pics they post without checking.

If the photo misleads the public, it’s a problem. But as papers were putting out articles on ‘Who is Rose Hanbury?’, they know exactly what they’re doing. The press are trying to get the Royals to admit what they already know, but can’t say. I think William is under a huge amount of pressure, but all his own doing.

Given the vast current speculation about her health saying that this was a recent image when it’s neither recent nor factual means they can’t publish it as accurate, because it’s simply not.

It doesn't, none of it matters.

They said she was having surgery and would be absent till after Easter. She, as had been advised, was absent. Then the media and the public decided that it was just too long to go without spotting her and made a fuss.

Even if she and Will are getting divorced, or she has had an affair, or was abducted by aliens, or whatever the latest conspiracy is, ultimately it still doesn't matter. Life will go on, no one will be affected by it and it will just be a few weeks of salacious crap in gossip rags then something else will take its place.

Does her editing a photo imply something?

Yes.

She has been ill and rightfully allowed to recover in private.

Then they released a photo on Mother's Day, saying it had been taken the same week. She looked healthy and well, killing some of the more outlandish rumours.

Then it turned out the photo was edited - to the extent that it seemed her hand was added in (that's what the comments about the cuff of Charlotte's sleeve are implying) and perhaps her head too (the horizontal line across her chest).

So the photo could no longer be viewed as an accurate portrayal of the health of the future Queen, and it was pulled by multiple reputable agencies.

I suspect it was done because she's self conscious about her appearance. And that's awful. She should be allowed recover in private, she shouldn't have to appear in any photos until she is well enough.

But the photo was an attempt to deceive the public and that's not ok.

A photo from a trusted source like the press office of the royal family would clearly ordinarily come under less initial scrutiny than a random picture from an unknown source, that’s common sense.

Because some vile people get a weird thrill from having a goat a woman in recovery from surgery.

It's very odd how some get their thrills.

*go at

Less scrutiny is not ‘no scrutiny’ surely?

I’d think if accuracy is so important, all pics would be checked? That to me is common sense?

Ordinarily anything issued by a royal Comms team would be viewed as a very trusted and respected source, that had already gone through multiple sign off processes before publication.

Not so much. Most that are issued directly to the press are treated with the same gravitas as an official written statement from the Palace would be and treated as truthful.
From what I've read there are some news agencies now going back over older photographs to check if this is the only time this has happened.
Plus this kind of kill notice has NEVER been issued for a Royal photo before. This leads some credibility to the theory that this particular image was very heavily doctored to the point of dishonesty.

My personal take is that most of the conspiracy theorists are plain batshit crazy. Catherine is unwell, it has affected her appearance somehow and she doesn't wish to be photographed until she is back looking her best.

What I do think has been a mistake is a lot of the PR around it, and the issuing of a fake photograph was an abysmal choice. It's both fed into the fire of conspiracists and undermined the authenticity and trust that usually comes with anything issued by the Royals as a whole. It would have been much better to have either issued an old family photo, a photo of the kids or a photo of some flowers/cards/general Mother's Day "stuff" that wished people a happy Mother's Day and confirmed that Catherine continues to rest and thanks everyone for their well wishes. Sure there would have been a few nutters asking for "proof of life" for Catherine but most people would accept this as a genuine message from a recuperating woman. All this has actually done is make things worse for the family and the wider Royals by default.

I was just reflecting if she is really unwell this is very sad for her. I wish her well on her recovery

Yeah, I understand that, that was my point.

What other ‘trusted sources’ do they rely on? What other things do they not check?

It makes me wonder that’s all.

They should be checking everything themselves.

@MrsWidgerysLodger what is the AP please?

I think there's a media vacuum with the King and POW out of commission, so the media is over-hyping every little thing for clicks. The royal family should go back to "never complain, never explain." When you feed the media monster it just wants more.

No one asked for a picture of her.

She could have put out a picture of a card.

She could of put out a picture of her as a baby and her Mum etc or William and Diana - no one asked.

Say you have taken it earlier this week and it’s very heavily photoshopped etc is taking the royal piss.

6 months sick leave - wow that’s serious added that your spouse gets 4 months off his job - many of us don’t have careers that allow our spouse time off work as well as us if we are ill. Her parents helping etc

Whatever she had - she could have released it eg stomach ulcers, hysterectomy etc and it would still have been fine. But we have been deceived before and lied to about affairs, divorces and titles. Eg Camilla would never been Queen or known as Queen. I don’t ask for these things - they are released.

KP issued the photo to media houses saying it was taken last week by Willy.
It's a lie. It wasn't taken last week nor was it a "photo taken". It's an amalgamation of at least two photos with a false narrative to be published as news officially provided by KP.

As much as the British Media are happy to kowtow to the RF this isn't the same for international media whom they sent the photo and narrative to. If it were the Royal Rota, they would've gotten away with it and maybe just edit out that it was taken last week.

KP can't produce the original photo cos there isn't any such and they can't hurriedly put one together cos Kate's face can't be shown for at least another week.

Mother's day photos will usually have her engagement ring showing but even that is missing. Kate lives near her parent in Windsor with the children so that doesn't preclude her from taking a photo with them. Willy lives in KP and doesn't need to be in the photo.

Kate's undergrad thesis was in photography of children and the Victorian era.
So for someone who studied photography in university, who has been praised as a fantastic photographer by most British papers to amalgamate different photos into one as a "proof of life" news update from her royal office staffed to the hilt means it was simply impossible to get a recent photo of them together and these international news agencies can't afford to have their reputation tarnished.

Ofcourse there're loads of photos of Kate and the kids but foremost on their mind is that she can't be seen yet but they want to continue the farce. A recently taken photo would've done the trick, so they created one digitally.

The king, decades older, dealing with cancer on the other hand is well enough to record a video message for the commonwealth service.

They may well check other sources more thoroughly, I don't honestly know. However AFAIK we haven't had any reason to previously distrust official Palace communications, either at the point of issue, or after the fact. Part of the reason this has blown up so much is the very fact that it's an official communication that's so dishonest

I quite often email pictures I’ve taken of the kids to DH to photoshop. Never to slim etc, but just when they’re looking opposite directions or smiling weirdly. I’ve seen him do some of the editing and he does it by using layers which is exactly how you end up with some of the errors seen in the picture.
I think it’s reasonable that William took the photos and Kate, who is the keen amateur photographer, did some editing to layer the pics to get a shot where all kids look happy.
It was a foolish mistake but it’s a shame that a picture meant to reassure has given people reason to criticise. I hope Kate is recuperating well

Sorry, Associated Press. It's a global organisation committed not ensuring that reporting his kept factual.

Associated Press. Reputable news agency providing factual information.

If they'd sent the photo and narrative (claiming it was taken last week by William) to Daily Mail, the Royal Rota or other BM they would've gotten away with it. The issue was that they sent it to AP who's identity is providing factual information.

The same photo simply saying happy mothers day etc would've been fine. Lying that it was taken last week when it's an amalgamation of old photos will tarnish the AP's reputation in the industry.

The general consensus is that if this was the case then allowing the AP access to the original photo/metadata showing the edits then the photograph may well still have been credible enough to publish. By refusing the release of this data it indicates that some more serious editing may have been done.