The Princess of Wales in the UK has issued an apology for causing “confusion” with a digitally manipulated family photo distributed via Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day. The manipulated image, which included Kate Middleton (Catherine), and her children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, was retracted on Sunday evening after photography agencies raised alarms over its doctored nature.
Various signs indicated that the image had been altered. Charlotte’s sleeve appeared incomplete or misaligned, her knees’ outline was blurry where it should have been sharply defined, and Louis’ jumper had inconsistent detailing on its upper arm region. Additional issues included Catherine’s misaligned zip on her jacket and an unnatural ending to Charlotte’s hair. Aside from the figures, the tilework surrounding Louis’ legs was also misaligned, and the density of foliage in the picture’s backdrop raised doubts regarding when the photo was taken.
Catherine (42), who had been away from the public eye after undergoing abdominal surgery two months prior, was the first to be featured in the released image since her hospitalisation in January. She acknowledged the situation via a tweet on Monday, stating, “As an amateur photographer, I do occasionally toy with editing. I wish to express my regrets for any confusion caused by the family photo we posted yesterday.”
The incident has re-ignited public concerns over false content, including outputs generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI), and their potential to degrade trust in journalism and visual media. Now, Kensington Palace is under scrutiny over how the doctored photo made it onto the news feeds, especially in these times when fabricated content is having a significant impact on the integrity of journalism and visual media.