Kate Middleton Acknowledges Family Photo Editing Controversy After Uproar Over 'AI Photo'

In a surprising turn of events, Kate Middleton has taken accountability for the recent photo controversy surrounding her family. The image, shared by the Kensington Palace account on Twitter, caused quite a stir among the UK press and beyond. Middleton admitted that her 'amateur' photo editing skills might have led to the confusion surrounding the picture, as per Deadline. Middleton wrote a statement on Kensington Palace's X account, stating, “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.”

The Associated Press, Getty Images, Reuters, and AFP—the four major news agencies—removed the innocent Mother's Day photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children from their libraries due to concerns that Kensington Palace had reportedly altered it. In fact, this photo went on to spark an entire discourse about its authenticity on Twitter. Although Kate issued an apology today for her editing abilities, specialists have offered their opinions on what they believe happened and the methods used to digitally modify the photo.

Some people think the Princess of Wales employed artificial intelligence technology, like the 'Best Take' feature of the top-tier £1,059 Google Pixel 8 phone, to make sure everyone in the photos was smiling and had their eyes open. However, this may result in final photos with errors and blurry lines. Some have pointed the finger at the 'sloppy' use of Photoshop or other image-editing applications like Topaz. ITV News' royal editor, Chris Ship, stated that Kensington Palace was facing 'serious questions' following the appearance of 'photoshop' work on several parts of the image, including Princess Charlotte's sleeve. 

Photographer Katie Mortimore thinks that software has been used to make major modifications to the image. Reflecting on her point of view, she said, "The photo is clearly manipulated. What is not clear is if it is a combination of two similar frames to look its best or is a fabrication in parts. I personally am fairly confident the Princess of Wales was sat in the chair with her children but without her arms around them. To be fair with recent major abdominal surgery that sort of reach of both arms would likely be painful. I don’t believe this is the first manipulated image from the palace BUT this coincides with the Princess’ illness so only raises more questions rather than dispelling them. The palace would be best to release the raw image to agencies but I would be surprised to see it happen. Why did the image get manipulated? I suspect the Princess did it as a keen photographer wanting to create a near perfect family photo," as per The Daily Mail.