It’s been another whirlwind few days for the royal family. A picture released in celebration of Mother’s Day, which shows the Princess of Wales and her three children, George, Charlotte, and Louis, has been withdrawn by top picture agencies including Reuters, AP and Getty amidst claims it has been digitally manipulated.
This prompted Kate to release a rare public statement on social media apologising for editing the picture. She wrote ‘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.’ She added, ‘I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.’
This cheerful Mother’s Day picture, which is the first official photograph of Kate since Christmas, was perhaps meant to put the rumours about her whereabouts to rest. Conspiracy theories about Kate have been swirling on the internet since January, after Kensington Palace announced that she had undergone abdominal surgery at the beginning of this year. The Palace was always clear that Kate wouldn’t be involved in any royal duties until after Easter at the earliest, but that didn’t stop the internet speculating on everything, from Kate being in hiding to grow out a fringe to her being Bansky.
The frenzy around the most recent picture has only heightened speculation on social media, particularly from amateur TikTok sleuths. Social media users were quick to point out editing errors in the picture, including that the sleeve of Charlotte’s cardigan didn’t line up and Louis’ hand looked distorted. But several theories have gone one step further to suggest it’s something different all together. TikToker Allyn Aston has suggested the photo is repurposed from one taken at a Christmas Baby Banks charity event in November 2023, ‘based on the outfits.’ The video has garnered 1.4 million views and 82.5k likes since it was posted yesterday.
Another recent theory claims the photo was manipulated using a picture from a photoshoot Kate did with Vogue in 2016. In a now viral tweet that was shared more than 3 million times in just a few hours, X user Ruby Naldrett wrote ‘my analysis of the kate middleton photo saga is that they took her face from the vogue cover she did years ago and edited it in.' She shared the 2016 Vogue cover pic side by side with the new family photo.
TikTok, by its nature, is a breeding ground for conspiracies - in the past, users have weighed in on everything from Nicola Bulley's disappearance to the origins of covid. While some of these theories are harmless, it’s important to remember that the more toxic speculation can be harmful – particularly at a time like this, when Kate recovers from surgery. A palace insider told The Telegraph on Monday that Kate felt 'awful' about editing the photograph, and she had just ‘tried to make it the best it could be’.
The speed at which this story is moving on social media is unprecedented for the royal family – something reflected in the way Kensington Palace is responding to it. After mounting speculation, they released a statement about Kate’s whereabouts to Page Six at the end of February, which said ‘Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands.’ Additionally, they noted that Kate is ‘doing well.’
Then came Kate's apology on social media, which is rare in itself. Most recently, Kensington Palace also said they would not be reissuing the original, unedited photograph, despite mounting pressure. All this marks a break in royal tradition to ‘never complain and never explain’, a phrase which was made famous by the Queen Mother to represent the family's stoic approach to controversies. In a 2017 interview, Queen Camilla revealed she was taught this as a child, and the late Queen Elizabeth tightly adhered to this motto. Increasingly, it seems this tactic is near impossible in a landscape driven by social media.
Despite the speed at which these rumours circulate, the bottom line is that the royal family - just like everyone else - are entitled to privacy, particularly when it comes to medical matters. Navigating this in the TikTok age where conspiracy theories, from the light-hearted to the harmful, spread at the click of a button presents a whole host of new challenges for the royal PR teams - something they will no doubt be in the process of updating their responses to.