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A history of the royal family’s past Photoshop controversies


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It was the photo seen, and questioned, round the world. In March 2024, amid questions of Kate Middleton’s whereabouts and well being following her January surgery, Kensington Palace issued a photo of the Princess of Wales with her three children.

The photo, according to a March 10 statement, was taken the week prior by Prince William. Within 24 hours, major news agencies issued a kill order for the photo for manipulation issues. TODAY.com spoke with experts about what they said were evidence of “photoshop fails,” like the sleeve of Charlotte’s maroon sweater not connecting completely.

In an official apology shared to Kensington Palace’s X account, the Princess of Wales seemingly apologized for her hand in the controversy.

“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,” Kate wrote in the post at the time.

Manipulation of royal photos came under the spotlight again a week later, when the photo agency Getty Images said a photo showing the late Queen Elizabeth surrounded by several of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was “digitally enhanced.” The photo was shared in April 2023 on what would have been the late monarch’s 97th birthday. The palace said Kate, who is a known amateur photographer, took the photo.

An analysis of the photo by NBC News found evidence of editing inconsistencies in the picture that suggested manipulation. NBC News’ analysis also found that the jaw and neck areas of both Prince Louis and Prince George appeared to have been altered, possibly to hide the appearance of a lens flare or to clean up their face lines.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the photo in an email to NBC News.

These examples are not the first time the royals have been suspected of editing images shared on their social media pages. In other instances, photos of royals in magazines were also suspected of being altered, though magazines are known to retouch photos

Photographs play an important role for the royal family, as the public figures use them to convey a visual narrative of their lives, legacies and endeavors. Beyond marking and celebrating milestones, visuals have been known throughout the history of the British monarchy to evoke a favorable image to the public that is both authentic and transparent. But that means they come under extra scrutiny. Here are past instances the royal family has been thought to edit photos.

Will and Kate's family Christmas card (2023)

Kensington Palace celebrated the holiday season by releasing a black-and-white photograph of William, Kate and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. 

At the time, users accused the palace of editing the photo when they pointed out the look of Louis’s middle finger, which appeared to be missing or oddly positioned.

“Why is your son missing a finger?” one user asked in the post’s X comments. “And whose legs are those? You should get a new Photoshop person.”

The royal family never issued a response to the edit accusations.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip (2020)

An official social media account for the British Royal family released a portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, for his 99th birthday, which he celebrated at Windsor Castle. 

Users on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, were quick to point out different aspects of the photo that had been edited, including the queen’s hands.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s birth announcement (2019)

Harry, William’s younger brother, and his wife Meghan Markle announced they were expecting their second child, Princess Lilibet, on Valentine’s Day in 2019. 

The black-and-white photograph that they attached to the announcement showed the couple lying in the grass with Meghan’s pregnant stomach in view. 

Three years after the image was shared, the picture’s photographer, Misan Harriman, made it clear that the photo was not digitally manipulated.

Harriman, in a video posted March 13, accused Daily Mail of misreporting an interview he had with Michael Berkeley on the BBC’s “Private Passions” podcast in 2022.

“Unfortunately, there’s been an article on the Daily Mail, saying that I have admitted to doctoring the pregnancy announcement portrait I took of Harry and Meghan,” Harriman said. “Apparently, I was switching out trees and meadows. This is crazy. 

He shared the original photo, in color, along with a screenshot of its metadata to his Instagram page on March 13.

Meghan and Harry's Christmas card (2019)

Not long after Harry and Meghan released an e-card featuring a black-and-white photograph of their 7-month-old son, Archie, the Daily Mail accused the couple of editing the image.

Janina Gavanka, an actor and friend of Meghan's who photographed the picture, took to X, the platform then known as Twitter, to debunk the theory.

“I am so proud to have taken the Christmas photo for one of my best friends and her family,” she wrote at the time before adding in a follow-up message: “...and to The Mail, I see your campaign against my friend continues. Nice Photoshop of my non-photoshopped image. Now, may we all get back to the spirit of Christmas and not the spirit of maliciousness.”

Meghan's Elle magazine cover (2019)

When Meghan Markle posed for the cover of Elle France in 2017, fans accused the magazine of covering her freckles. The photo edit happened in spite of Meghan’s previous comments that “to this day, my pet peeve is when my skin tone is changed, and my freckles are airbrushed out of a photo shoot.” 

The photos appear from a photoshop conducted by Gritty Pretty magazine two years before, in 2015.

Kate's British Vogue cover (2016)

The duchess made her magazine cover debut on the front page of British Vogue. At the time, Vanity Fair speculated that her photo for the cover had undergone at least a hint of the art treatment.

According to the magazine, Kate “did not have final approval over the portfolio of images which do not appear to have been heavily airbrushed.”

William's Vanity Fair cover (2014)

Vanity Fair faced accusations of digital alteration when Prince William appeared on the magazine’s cover with Kate and newborn George. People zeroed in on his hairline.

Vanity Fair later denied that the photo of the royal was altered, telling E! News at the time: “We did not Photoshop the cover to make Prince William appear to have more hair ... We gave the image a poster-like palette. We added some shadow to Prince William to make the white type more legible and to place more emphasis on Prince George.”

Alex Portée

Alex Portée is a senior trending reporter at TODAY Digital and is based in Los Angeles.

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