Tragic reason Kate Middleton may have taken the rap for Photoshop blunder – and it shows how selfless she is
KATE Middleton may have taken the rap for the royal Photoshop blunder for a tragic reason, according to an insider.
The heartwarming pic of Kate beaming with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, was shared on 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”.
Kate apologised on Monday was said to be “very sad” that the sweet photograph taken by Prince William had triggered a global furore.
One royal writer believes that Kate may have owned up to the mistake for a very sad reason.
Richard Eden has written in the Daily Mail that he believes Kate could have taken the rap because of a tasteless prank played on the princess that eventually led to tragedy.
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Eden wrote: "I am told that she and William are still ‘haunted’ by the tragic death of a nurse at a hospital where Catherine was being treated in 2012."
Jacintha Saldanha worked at King Edward VII’s Hospital and took her own life three days after falling for a prank call by two Australian radio DJs pretending to be the Queen and Prince Charles in 2012.
Saldanha had transferred the call to another nurse who was looking after Kate.
"Friends of William and Catherine tell me Ms Saldanha’s death left a deep impression on them. The tragedy made the couple even more determined that no one working for them should ever be publicly humiliated."
Eden said staff serving the Royal Family should have stepped in and stopped the image being posted in the first place.
The fact they didn't effectively threw Kate "under a bus".
The columnist said communications staff were paid well to do their roles and should have taken the blame.
Eden wrote that it sounded like to him the communications staff were trying to protect their own skins.
He said: "I hope that William makes sure he appoints officials who are willing to ask difficult questions and give him unwelcome advice."
PHOTOSHOP SAGA
Kate is believed to have altered the image three times on a computer before it was posted on social media on 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.
And in a colour-corrected and lightened version of the image, Kate’s zip appears not to line up.
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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.”
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 said 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 said minor adjustments are allowed, they include cropping, colour adjustments, and light adjustments.
