The 'inconsistency' with Princess Charlotte's hand that aroused suspicions.
The 'inconsistency' with Princess Charlotte's hand that aroused suspicions.
An “inconsistency” with Princess Charlotte’s hand was the detail which suggested to one picture agency that Kensington Palace’s image of the Princess of Wales and her children had been manipulated.
Social media users claimed that part of her wrist was missing.
Others commented that the Princess of Wales wasnot wearing her wedding ring, while Prince Louis had his fingers crossed and a tree in the background appeared to have leaves in mid-March.
The picture, released by Kensington Palace with a Mother’s Day message, was recalled by picture agencies Getty, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters, which put out a “kill notice” to halt distribution.
“At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP notice said.
The new photograph of the royal family was taken in Windsor, earlier this week, by the Prince of Wales. Photo / Instagram
Picture recall may be a first
The agencies have a policy of not distributing photographs that have been overly edited. It is thought to be the first time a picture issued by the Royal family has been recalled in this way.
The controversial photograph is thought to feature as many as 16 inconsistencies according to eagle-eyed social media users.
The Princess apologised for “any confusion” after the manipulated image of her family, said to have been taken by Prince William in Windsor last week, was withdrawn.
The Telegraph had identified seven inconsistencies in the picture before the Princess took the blame in a tweet posted from the Kensington Royal Twitter/X account at 10.28am on Monday morning:
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
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024
But social media users claim to have spotted several more clues that demonstrate that the photograph had been significantly doctored.
They alleged that the window knob behind the family would not have a reflection on the glass and that Prince George was missing a foot.
Others added that Prince Louis’s little finger on his left hand appeared longer than his index finger and that the wall he was leaning on was blurry in several places.
Suspicions were also raised about the Princess’s and her daughter Princess Charlotte’s hair.
They claimed that part of the Princess’s hair was blurred but that Prince George’s jumper behind it was not.
Others added that Princess Charlotte’s hair ended abruptly on her right shoulder and dipped in unnaturally further down.
They also said the corner of her skirt appeared unusually straight.
Dr Hany Farid, a professor of computer sciences at the University of California Berkeley, told The Telegraph the issue with Princess Charlotte’s sleeve looked like a “bad Photoshop job”.
It looks like a bad Photoshop job, says one expert.
“I clearly see what is being referenced here, with respect to her sleeve. It looks like a bad Photoshop job,” he said.
“I know we talk a lot about AI lately but it is still possible to use traditional photo-editing tools.
“What you would be worried about here is if Kate wasn’t in this photo and had been digitally inserted. This would be a dramatic manipulation.”
There is no evidence to suggest that the Princess has been inserted into the photograph.
Farid added: “You see her hands around the kids on both sides, you see her hair is touching the boy. The contact between her and the boy is very good.
“There are two likely stories. Perhaps there was something they didn’t like on the girl’s hand or sleeve, so they airbrushed it and did a bad job.”
Jake Moore, a former digital forensics officer for Dorset Police who now works as a global cyber security adviser for internet security company ESET, said clues of editing would lie in the lighting and direction of shadows in any picture.
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