In honour of Kate Middleton’s 40th birthday last weekend, fans were treated to a series of regal portraits by fashion photographer Paolo Roversi. Two black and white, one colour, the photographs will be showcased permanently at the National Portrait Gallery in London, of which the Duchess of Cambridge is Patron.
Sharing the images on Twitter and Instagram, a statement from the Cambridges read: ‘These new portraits which have been released to mark the 40th will be shown in the community in three meaningful places: Berkshire, St Andrews, and Anglesey, as part of the [National Portrait Gallery] nationwide ‘Coming Home’ exhibition, ahead of the Gallery reopening in 2023.’
With thousands of likes, the pictures have largely been well-received by the public. But there’s a faction of fans who have noticed something different, and they’re making their opinions well-heard. In fact, they’re accusing whoever edited the pictures of using too much photoshop.
‘I couldn’t recognise her!’ one person tweeted in response. ‘I had to read her name to know and yet… I couldn’t! Too many filters? They weren’t needed.’
‘Beautiful portraits. But she looks so different, barely recognizable, and I can’t figure out why,’ another added. ‘Looks like they photoshopped her teeth,’ one commented on Instagram. ‘Question is.. WHY??? SHE IS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING just the way she is.’
Ultimately, it seems as though fans aren’t happy with the edit of the pictures. Respectfully, they don’t think an already beautiful Kate should be drastically edited at all. So what’s happened? Have the royal family fallen foul to the dreaded Instagram Face? By that, we of course mean the pressure to post the most ‘perfect’ version of yourself online. Whether it’s reshaping bone structure, editing out supposed ‘flaws’ or smoothing skin, it’s an unhealthy trend that seeps into almost all of our social media feeds these days. Ironically, efforts to achieve such ‘perfected’ versions of our faces online often leave us looking too edited, like manufactured barbie doll heads sitting on very normal bodies.
Of course, picture editing for professional portraits has long been the norm. Often, small edits are made to curate an overall more aesthetically pleasing look as requested by the subject. That might mean small corrections to background flaws, or slight edits to blemishes – but it shouldn’t typically mean entire structural changes to a face or skin texture.
But aren’t those small edits what started all of this? When you grow up bombarded with adverts featuring already perfect-looking celebrities that are still slightly edited to reach ultimate perfection, it’s no wonder than when the rest of us gained access to high quality cameras and easy editing software, picture editing snowballed into full on surgical annihilation of our faces.
Now, that’s not exactly what has happened with Kate - these pictures do still look like her - but it does speak volumes that her own fans are concerned about the use of photoshop in royal portraits. We might expect it of the average Instagram influencer whose career depends on posting their ‘perfect’ life online, but few would think the royal family could feel the same pressures.
The positive takeaway from all of this is that fans ARE noticing when picture editing doesn’t feel right to them, and they’re speaking up. While we can hold empathy for those that do feel the need to drastically edit pictures of themselves, it’s important to encourage a reversal of this trend to Facetune away every little ‘flaw’. Because if even the royal family are using Facetune (and that’s a big IF, not an accusation), we’ve truly entered a new dimension of social media hell.
Read More:
40 Style Lessons From Kate Middleton To Celebrate Her 40th Birthday
The Story Behind Kate Middleton's Dresses In Her 40th Birthday Portraits By Paolo Roversi
Did Kate Middleton's Waist Size Really Need To Be Discussed On Good Morning Britain?