Would it have mattered if the picture showed her looking a bit poorly?

[Sparetoes]

Now, firstly I don't think the picture should have been put out at all , and I don't think she should have made that trip in a car without blackend windows. We were told she was having surgery and would be back after Easter and that should have been that.

For some reason they decided to put out the Mother's Day picture and manipulated it. Consensus appears to be that this was more than a minor tweak or two to make sure DC were all smiling at once or that the pimple on her nose wasn't visible. There's been significant work done, around her face.

For me, the interesting story is the way the PR's been handled. I don't understand how or why that picture was ever put out and I can't begin to think what was going through anyone's mind when they sent her out in that car. From a PR POV it has been appallingly badly handled.

However, if they'd decided they needed to put something out and it showed a woman looking a bit puffy (from steroids) or drawn (from pain) but still smiling with her DC, would that have been so terrible?

I understand of course that everyone wants to look their best, but from a PR pov, would it have mattered if an ill woman looked....ill?

The cover up is always worse then the crime (of looking ill)

I do understand why she did it though.

So do thousands of normal, everyday women without the resources and privilege she has. Not saying any of these apply to her, but things like domestic violence, infidelity, baby loss, chronic illness, MH problems, abuse, addiction are so commonplace across all levels of society. Whatever terrible situation you can think of is being dealt with by loads of people behind closed doors.

This obviously makes them all deserving of sympathy, but the knee jerk reaction here is that Kate is extra special and extra deserving of caring treatment because she might be experiencing something that befalls many normal women who have no choice but to put on a stoic face and get on with their life. This is monarchist propaganda working because people are holding a princess up to very different standards as a normal person.

Being photographed looking ill seems to be postulated here as the worst possible punishment imaginable. But is it really? Honestly? In the bigger picture, if you had a surgery for a serious health issue and people found out what it was, would that truly be a life-destroying trauma or just something you could get over with in time?

On MN there are regular threads by women who are suicidal due to COL and who endure hideous situations without any possibility of escape. I'm sure those people would trade their life in a heartbeat for the privilege of Kate's existence if all they had to do was endure an unflattering picture of them printed in the papers.

At no point was Kate's personal safety in danger. She's been at home with her family, convalescing the way anyone should. She gets chauffeur driven to medical appointments and would never have to deal with NHS waiting times. She will probably be back after Easter looking reasonably fab and continuing her work as most people would do as well. So it's nothing "extraordinary" that she truly needs to put up with, aside from stoicism and professionalism that applies to loads of other people as well.

Yes this in a nutshell. No one expects the men to look perfect all the time oddly.

If she wanted to put out a picture - and I'm not sure she did - someone should have put their arm around her and told her that not looking her version of tip top was absolutely fine and, in fact, expected in the circumstances. It was more suspicious to be looking so pristine - yet not back at work! It was the sort of photo you don't want your boss to see if you are trying to extend your sick leave.

Do you not think she knows that? She has a mother and sister who are very close and a husband who is obviously trying to protect her.

kate is not some idiot, nor is she some young woman unused to the media. She’s one of the most famous women in the world who has had her every move and image scrutinised for decades. She is as media savvy as it gets. But media savvy is not digital savvy and they noth overplayed their part there, thinking either the edits would not be spotted or as they were royal they would be allowed to slip. A huge error and likely one borne of entitlement.

id have put that down to Williams final ok. He thought they were untouchable, that he has a touch of Harry about him in the entitlement stakes.

as said, Kate isn’t some fool, she’s not a newbie. So she will be looking really very unwell right now and doesn’t wish that photo picked over for posterity. Which is fair.

they just wanted to put the speculation to bed and fucked up massively.

I’d also add folks saying William shouldn’t have let Kate take responsibility, if William had said Kate didn’t look well so I had a fake pic put put, the controversy would be even worse,

He could have said 'Sorry, I took the photo and asked my staff to tidy it up as it was a bit rubbish' or something. It was KP's fault, as they should not have sent it out.

It would have mattered...not because of vanity but because it would have caused endless speculation as to what her condition actually is.

I think it would have looked much worse if William had said he'd done the editing. Would have made him look either ashamed of his wife or controlling.

She's also apparently an accomplished photographer, who has had her photographs in books. Although apparently she is also a concert pianist, despite only having a Grade 4 piano. Surely part of being an accomplished photographer is being able to use editing equipment competently. I agree that this is borne out of entitlement and arrogance. They thought they could do what they like. The British press are doing them no favours in this regard. They built Kate up into some kind of saint so they could pit her against the she devil that is Meghan, but the International press and International press agencies have given them a smackdown.

Well he could tell the truth, about who did it and why. Kates statement didnt say she did it. She said she edits occasionally, and she apologised for the confusion. She didn't say 'I edited the Mothers day photo and went over the top and didn't realise'

I think you're maybe misunderstanding what is being very clearly insuated by the press and the associated kill notice. Kate's face doesn't need retouching because it's not part of the original photo (if there is one; I think it's been established it's a montage). It's the areas around her face, hands, kids hair etc which have had to be altered to incorporate her face into the image. At the moment though, the press are stopping short of saying that.