‘I do occasionally experiment with editing’– Kate Middleton apologises about photo controversy

Catherine, the Princess of Wales has apologised for editing the photo with her kids, after it was cited by global photo agencies for manipulation.

“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,” she wrote on social media, responding to controversy surrounding the photo.

What was supposed to be an innocent post relaying Kat Middleton’s wishes to moms in the UK on Sunday for Happy Mother’s Day turned into a controversial moment for the royal family after they were accused of manipulating the image.

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” read her post on Instagram, where she is snapped with her three children. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” she concluded the post.

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But the photo of the mother with her kids was flagged by global photo agencies for being edited.

Reuters, the Associated Press (AP) and Agence France-Presse (AFP) are the three agencies that withdrew the first official photograph of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, after her unspecified “abdominal” surgery claiming irregularities with the image.

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Pulled

The photo was shared on Sunday morning, but within hours the aforementioned agencies issued a “kill” notification, taking down the photograph from their own databases and requesting that clients who had licensed the photograph also remove it from their publications.

Variety quotes a notice by the AP stating: “The source has manipulated the image”, while AFP cited an “editorial issue”. Reuters said it had withdrawn the photograph following a “post-publication review”.

Even prior to being pulled by the agencies, netizens noticed an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s hand and skirt and the zip on Kate’s sweater.

However, according to media reports the palace has declined to comment further on either the photograph or the reaction of the photo agencies, save for the brief X apology.

Last week, the Ministry of Defence confirmed that the Princess of Wales would attend King Charles‘ birthday celebrations in June.

The British Army posted the engagement on its official website, saying Catherine, who is married to heir to the throne Prince William, will help review soldiers as part of the annual Trooping the Colour.

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Mother’s Day

Unlike other celebrated days such as Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween, Mother’s Day falls on different dates in different countries every year. In South Africa the day will be celebrated on 12 May.

The UK celebrates Mother’s Day in March because of its roots in the Christian observance of Lent. Dubbed ‘Mothering Sunday’ in the UK, the day is on the fourth Sunday, exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday.

This observance originated in the Middle Ages, when children who had left their families to work in domestic service were allowed to go to their home – or “mother” – church.

The journey home morphed into a spring occasion for families to reunite, which eventually adopted the custom of children picking flowers on the way home as a gift to their mothers.

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