If the falsification of Kate Middleton’s photo has become scandalous outside the borders of the United Kingdom, this is not the first time that the crown has resorted to this practice.
The world wept this Sunday, March 10, after Kate Middleton’s healed photo was broadcast. What is happening in Wales? Why share an edited photo under these circumstances? Prince William’s wife even had to defend herself on her Instagram story, prompting a simple “edit” by her like any good photography lover. As artificial intelligence expert Pierre Saal explained to us a few days ago, “image Photoshopping tools are becoming more and more accessible and are used very regularly by everyone.” The royal family is not immune to these new technologies and like it or not, they also retouch these photos from time to time.
Smile, prince.
The first example was in 1999, during the marriage of Prince Edward with Sophie Rhys-Jones. Prince William was apparently not in a very good mood that day, making the crown more… smile. And to give royal fans the illusion of a more united family, the then 17-year-old’s face was swapped out for a different, therefore more smiling, photo. “Prince Edward said he didn’t think Prince William was being portrayed in the best light, so we digitally took an image of Prince William from another photo of him smiling and put it in the first one.” that day of the lens, he explained to the newspaper. And the Lebanese newspaper? East-Day with the title: “William retouched the photos. Smile, prince.”
The Queen and her grandchildren
Same with this famous portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and her ten grandchildren, taken in the summer of 2022 in the drawing room of her Balmoral residence. When the photo was released in April 2023, some found the image too flat and mathematically impossible to achieve. For royal journalist Maud Garmin and tech entrepreneur Christopher Busey, there was no doubt. the portrait was indeed retouched. “It’s not easy to get a perfect photo with 10 kids and capture their smiles at the same time. It’s like they took several photos and then retouched them to make the photo perfect,” he explained Telegraph: . And added: “When we zoom in on the image, we realize that it has been altered. Obviously, Louis would even be added.
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
Another retouch, this time rougher, on the couple’s photo of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. On 10 June 2020, on the occasion of the Duke of Edinburgh’s 99th birthday, Buckingham Palace released a photo of him and the sovereign in the gardens of Windsor Castle. But when moving the eye from right to left, the contours look very strange, not to say fake natural. Above all, a shadow appears on the right hand of the queen, suggesting a very unfortunate addition and subtraction.
The 4 fingers of Prince Louis
Finally, a much more recent photo of the Cambridges reignites the controversy. On December 11, 2023, three months before Kate Middleton’s photo scandal, the family greeting card was already posted. The black-and-white image shows Princess Charlotte on a chair, surrounded by her brother Prince George, both of her parents and Prince Louis. Zooming in reveals an extra leg under Charlotte’s chair. Little Louie looks like he only has four fingers. “Photoshop error!! There is an extra leg in this photo!!!! How did the photographer not notice?? Oh my God,” we can read in the comments.
If it’s only about small adjustments every time, they add up and are of course only the result of these few examples. So, while many people cried foul following a fake photo of Kate Middleton, it’s worth remembering that this fake is part of the royal family’s routine.
Source: Le Figaro
