It was meant to be a wholesome family photo of the Princess of Wales and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to mark Mother’s Day in the UK and to reassure the concerned public that Kate was recovering well after her abdominal surgery, as promised.
And it worked for a short time – until photo agencies around the world discovered that the picture, taken by Prince William at their home in Windsor and released by the palace, had been doctored. Since then, the family photo has only thrown more fuel on the fire surrounding Kate’s mysterious two-and-a-half-month absence from public life.
In addition to being one of the biggest royal PR gaffes in recent history, the photo scandal has also turned the spotlight undesirably onto speculation of possible trouble in Kate and William’s marriage, spurred on by her iconic sapphire and diamond engagement and wedding rings missing from the new snap.
‘BACKFIRED SPECTACULARLY’
“A picture that was supposed to send out a positive message about Kate’s health has backfired spectacularly,” royal author Phil Dampier tells Woman’s Day. “The internet was already awash with rumours about Catherine, now the rumour mill has been given rocket boosters with people saying the ‘fake photo’ shows the royals can’t be trusted to tell the truth.”
The recovering princess, 42, took the fall for the major photo error amid criticism that William, 41, should have stepped in rather than his ill wife. The mother of three said, “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.”
Royal commentator Richard Eden has slammed the future king and the PR team – who presumably issued the release of the image – for throwing Kate “under the bus”.
“It’s disgraceful. It’s very ungentlemanly of Prince William to put the onus on [Kate]… for goodness sake, he’s the one who took the photograph.”
Understandably, the princess’ wellbeing is under scrutiny even more now.
“She must be under intense pressure now,” says royal expert Penny Junor. “I think she’s in a fragile mental and physical state.”
A friend of Kate’s told the Mirror the princess would be “upset” by what was intended to be an “innocent family photograph” and the chance to thank her well-wishers for their kindness during
her recovery. But even with Kate’s genuine apology, it’s fair to say that trust in the royal family is now at its lowest point in a while.
Indeed, when William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor in their car after the apology, the sceptics were already out in force, implying the photo was fake due to the mismatched bricks on one section of the wall behind them.
CAN THE PALACE BE TRUSTED?
Now for many, the idea that Kate’s largely unexplained disappearance from royal life could really be covering up cracks in her 13-year marriage to William is not that far-fetched.
Though a split would be “catastrophic” for the future of the monarchy, seasoned royal reporter Phil believes it’s a case of “never say never”.
“For more than five years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I was the royal reporter on The Sun – the UK’s biggest-selling tabloid – the palace lied to me on a daily basis that there was nothing wrong with the marriage of Charles and Diana,” he points out. “Since those days, I’ve taken everything the royal spokespeople tell me with a pinch of salt.”
