Prince William and Kate intend to release new family photo to mark Louis’ birthday after photoshop saga, pal reveals
PRINCE William and Kate are intending to release a new family photo to mark Louis' birthday after the photoshop sage, a friend has claimed.
Kate apologised after Kensington Palace posted a digitally altered family picture taken by the Prince of Wales at Adelaide Cottage, the family’s home in Windsor, in celebration of Mother’s Day.
The heartwarming pic of Kate beaming with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, was shared last Sunday.
But several major photo agencies then withdrew the snap, the first official shot of Kate since abdominal surgery in January, over fears it had been “edited at source”.
The Princess of Wales was said to be “very sad” that the sweet photograph had triggered a global furore.
But despite the controversy, it is expected that the royals will still uphold the tradition of releasing a new photograph to mark their children's birthdays, the next being Prince Louis on April 23.
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"They appreciate the public's love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays," an aide told the Sunday Times.
Sources close to the couple say no “firm decision” has been taken yet on whether Kate will point the camera or leave it to a professional photographer.
A source close to Kate says she wanted to “bring a bit of joy” with what was intended as a reassuring image to thank the public for their support during her recovery from abdominal surgery in January.
Another friend insists that it was just someone trying to project the polished image that the public has come to expect: "It's a photo that she knew everyone would pore over so she pored over it herself — she likes trying to make the family look the best they can."
Despite calls for the original image to be published, Kensington Palace insisted it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
Kate will be honoured by three cheers at the St Patrick's Day parade, as she continues to rest after her surgery.
The royal is missing the event at the Mons Barracks in Aldershot, Hampshire, for the first time in seven years as she recuperates from her planned abdominal operation.
The mum-of-three, who became the honorary Colonel of the Irish Guards last year, has only missed one St Patrick's Day parade since 2012.
Kate has now been out of the public eye since the Christmas service in Sandringham in December last year.
Details of the princess's condition have not been revealed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
PHOTOSHOP SAGA
Kate is believed to have altered the image three times on a computer before it was posted on social media last Sunday.
Inspection of the original image revealed it was taken on a Canon camera with a 50mm lens.
It had been edited three times on Adobe Photoshop — once on Friday evening and twice on Saturday.
Royal enthusiasts had questioned why Kate wasn’t wearing her wedding ring in the Mother’s Day snap and noticed her other hand was blurry.
Others said daughter Charlotte’s cardigan sleeve seemed to disappear and her skirt was fuzzy.
Some claimed there seemed to be an odd cut in a nearby skirting board.
WHY WERE 'KILL NOTICES' ISSUED?
News agencies ordered a "kill notice" on the picture late Sunday night.
The removal orders were sent after "manipulation" on the image was discovered.
AP's order said the reason for killing the story was: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image."
The order then directs those who have used the photo to remove it from all platforms, including social.
Agence France-Press ordered the "mandatory kill" due to an "editorial issue" and directed that the image may no longer be used.
Reuters said the photo “has been withdrawn following a post publication review.”
Getty Images said: “For editorial reasons, please remove the following image(s) from your system and do not use in any manner.”
Getty said its picture desk "identified a problematic image" provided by the palace and removed it from its site "in accordance with our editorial policy."
PA said: "Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday.
"We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace.
"In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service."
Each of the news agencies have their own editorial guidelines which govern how they treat images.
AP says that pictures "must always tell the truth" and that it does not alter or manipulate the content of a photograph in any way.
Its guidelines say: "The content of a photograph must not be altered in PhotoShop or by any other means. No element should be digitally added to or subtracted from any photograph."
However, AP says minor adjustments are allowed, they include cropping, colour adjustments, and light adjustments.
And in a colour-corrected and lightened version of the image, Kate’s zip appears not to line up.
Five large news agencies - AP, Getty Images, Reuters, AFP and PA - all withdrew the snap over fears it had been "edited at the source".
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She apologised on Monday, saying: “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.”
