- Getty Images says the phot taken at Balmoral was ‘digitally enhanced at source’
A photo of the late Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-children was also manipulated, a picture agency has revealed.
The portrait taken at Balmoral in August 2022 shows the late monarch posing with eight of her 12 grandchildren and was taken just weeks before her death by Kate Middleton.
It was released by Buckingham Palace on April 21 last year to mark what would have been her 97th birthday.
Global picture agency Getty Images now says the heartwarming image was ‘digitally enhanced at source’ having undertaken a review following the recent fallout from the Princess of Wales editing a Mother’s Day photo of herself with her three children.
Several discrepancies, which include the line of the late Queen’s tartan skirt not matching, have been picked up by eagle-eyed members of the public.
The green Chesterfield sofa appears to have been spliced together, while there are black patches visible behind Princes George and Louis, suggesting the area has been edited, reported The Telegraph.
In the snap the late monarch appeared in her element with Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, James, Earl of Wessex, Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips, Prince Louis, Mia Tindall, Lucas Tindall and Savannah Phillips.
All the children are smiling sweetly as they surround the Queen, who was sitting between them on a sofa and wearing tartan at her beloved Aberdeenshire home.
A spokesman for Getty Images said: ‘Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source.’
Suspicions were first raised about the portrait last year by tech CEO Christopher Bouzy who said he believed it had been photoshopped.
It will be further embarrassment for Kate, who was said to be ‘very distressed by the fallout’ of her Mother’s Day photo, according to the Mail’s royal editor Rebecca English.
Earlier this month the picture was released by Kensington Palace in what was seen as a bid to quash vicious conspiracy theories that had been swirling on social media about the Princess’ health after not being publicly seen since before her planned abdominal surgery in January.
Several of the world’s top news agencies took the extraordinary step to issue a ‘kill’ notice of the keen amateur photographer’s photo over claims it had been ‘manipulated’.
It prompted Kate to issue a statement on X hours later in which she 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.
‘I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.’
It comes after an ‘incredibly happy’ Kate was pictured by a member of the public on Saturday visiting the Windsor Farm Shop with her husband William, 41, a short drive from their Berkshire home.
Looking healthy, happy and relaxed, the princess carries her own shopping bag and laughingly chats with her husband as the pair exit the shop and return to their car, according to the image published by The Sun.
Kate and William were not accompanied by their three children, Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis.
The couple have, in recent weeks, been left deeply distressed by wild social media speculation and gossip about Kate’s health and whereabouts.
However body language expert Judi James said tonight that Kate’s behaviour was a masterclass in ‘quashing all the toxic rumours’.
She told MailOnline: ‘It is completely stunning to see the most sought-after woman in the world and the subject of speculation and rumours on social media suddenly appearing like this looking not just healthy, full of energy and incredibly happy but also making no apparent attempt to hide while out in public.
‘Kate walks ahead of William here, taking large enough strides to suggest no hint of any ongoing frailty. While William keeps his face partially hidden under his cap and his head lowered, Kate’s body language here suggests a desire to be seen.
‘Her head is up and her long hair is billowing while she wears a cheek-rounded smile that seems to signal she is completely upbeat and cheerful.
‘This is quite extraordinary body language behaviour for a leading royal out “incognito” in public and it suggests a point is, quite naturally, being made in terms of reassuring fans and quashing all the toxic rumours.’
Sources close to the Wales’ have told the Mail they have found the speculation hugely hurtful and hard to deal with, but were determined to focus on what was important to them – their family and the princess’ recovery.
It is anticipated that the new image, showing the couple going about their normal lives, will go some way to calming many of the wilder rumours that have gripped people across the globe.
The snap was taken at 12.43pm on Saturday by a member of the public who was also at the farm shop, just a mile’s drive from the Wales’ Adelaide Cottage home, on their Apple iPhone 12 Pro phone.
The person concerned said they were visiting the shop to ‘kill time’ while on the way to meet someone to buy an item from Facebook when they recognised William and Kate and were struck by how ‘happy’ they looked.
Last April Mr Bouzy described the photograph of the late Queen as ‘beautiful’ on X.
Calling on people to ‘stop criticising’ snap, he added: ‘Yes, they Photoshopped it, and so what? It isn’t easy to get the perfect photo with 10 children. It appears they took multiple shots and then edited the photo to make it perfect. I would’ve done the same.’
In a later tweet about the snap, which was shared on the official social media accounts of The Prince and Princess of Wales, he wrote: ‘You can literally see where two sides of the sofa were spliced together, and there are pixels on the face that were not properly edited.
‘As I stated in my original tweet, I don’t see anything wrong with it. But to claim it’s not Photoshopped is false. It’s been edited.’
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
