Princess of Wales: What led to palace admission over ‘manipulated’ photo of Kate
After major photo agencies pulled the Mother’s Day picture of the Princess of Wales and her three children, Kate has now personally apologised for any “confusion” caused and said she edited the image.
Sky News answers the major questions raised by some over the “manipulated” image.
When and why was the photo released?
The photo was published on Sunday morning on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts in celebration of Mother’s Day, and featured Kate surrounded by the couple’s three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
It was accompanied by the caption: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.”
The caption also said the photo was taken in 2024 by Prince William.
Analysis of the photo’s metadata by Sky News’s data & forensics unit found the image had been saved in photo editing software Adobe Photoshop twice on an Apple Mac – but it is unclear if it was saved on the same device.
The first save was made at 9.54pm on Friday night, with the second at 9.39am on Saturday morning.
The image was taken at Adelaide Cottage – the family’s home in Windsor – on a Canon 5D mark IV, which retails at £2,929.99 and used a Canon 50mm lens, which is priced at £1,629.99.
The Royal Family regularly publish their own photos to mark family occasions including birthdays and Christmas.
It is the first photograph released by Kensington Palace since Kate, 42, had abdominal surgery in January.
US celebrity news outlet TMZ did publish an unofficial paparazzi shot of the princess last week. It said the princess was spotted in a car driven by her mother Carole Middleton near Windsor Castle.
Kate was last seen in public on Christmas Day when she joined other members of the Royal Family for their annual church service and walk.
The Princess of Wales when she was last seen in public on Christmas Day. Pic: AP
The princess spent almost two weeks at The London Clinic earlier this year. The palace has revealed few details about her medical condition but said it is not cancer-related.
Kensington Palace said the princess was not expected to return to official duties until after Easter and would only provide updates on her recovery when there was significant new information to share.
It also added in a statement that the princess preferred to keep her personal information private, saying she wanted to “maintain as much normality for her children as possible”.
Why did news agencies ‘kill’ the picture?
Major international picture agencies “killed” the photograph on Sunday night – a direction that instructs media organisations that have used the picture to remove it from both their articles and archives.
Kill notices are uncommon and usually due to issues with copyright or journalistic process – but royal photographs being pulled is rare.
Associated Press (AP) was the first to pull the picture due to an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”.
The agency told Sky News in a statement: “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards.”
Reuters soon followed, saying it withdrew the picture following a “post-publication review” with a spokesperson adding the agency is “reviewing the matter”.
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Meanwhile, Agence France-Presse (AFP) said it had “come to light” that the image of the “Princess of Wales and her kids had been altered” and was therefore removed from its systems.
A Getty Images spokesperson also told Sky News: “Earlier today our picture desk identified a problematic image provided to Getty Images by Kensington Palace. We can confirm the image in question was removed from our site in accordance with our editorial policy.”
The Press Association news agency initially did not kill the picture on its service. A spokesperson said it was seeking urgent clarification from Kensington Palace on the concerns raised about manipulation.
But it later said it would be withdrawing the image from its picture service, saying: “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.”
A community note was also added under the post on X, formerly Twitter, saying it had been “digitally altered”.
Community notes allow readers to add context to posts to help other users have a better understanding of what they are reading or viewing.
What questions were raised about the photo?
The most obvious issue is the apparent alteration with Princess Charlotte’s sleeve – AP quoted this as the main reason why it pulled the image.
But there are other peculiarities people have pointed out in the photograph.
Kate’s right hand is blurry in comparison to her left, some say her left jaw appears superimposed, and the zip on the left side of her jacket is not straight.
As well as Princess Charlotte’s cardigan, the waistband of her skirt also appears to have been inserted.
The pattern on Prince Louis’s jumper is also uneven and the wall to his right is not straight.
UK
Cardinal Vincent Nichols: British cardinal who will be in the conclave says picking the next pope is ‘intimidating’
The head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has told Sky News it’s “intimidating” to be one of those responsible for choosing the next pope.
Vincent Nichols is among four UK cardinals in Rome for the Pope’s funeral on Saturday.
Following the funeral, and after nine days of mourning, cardinals from around the world will gather in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel to cast their votes, with white smoke announcing to the world when a new pope has been elected.
Cardinal Nichols told Sky’s Anna Botting: “I hope nobody goes into this conclave, as it were, with the sole purpose of wanting to win. I think it’s very important that we go in wanting to listen to each other… It has to be together, trying to sense what God wants next. Not just for the church.”
Becoming emotional, he also said the final message he would like to have given Pope Francis is “thank you”.
The 88-year-old died peacefully on Easter Monday, the Vatican confirmed.
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Pope’s cause of death confirmed .
Heads of state – including Sir Keir Starmer, Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron – have all confirmed their attendance at his funeral, which takes place on Saturday at St Peter’s Square.
Prince William will attend on behalf of the King, Kensington Palace has said.
Cardinal Nichols explained that the funeral would be “exactly the same Catholic rite as everyone else – just on a grander scale”.
In a break from tradition, Pope Francis will be the first pope in a century to be interred outside the Vatican – and will instead be laid to rest at his favourite church, Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome’s Esquilino neighbourhood.
He will also be buried in just one simple wooden coffin, instead of the traditional three coffins which are usually used for pontiffs.
Born in Crosby near Liverpool, Cardinal Vincent Nichols hoped to be a lorry driver as a child – but as a teenager reportedly felt the calling to join the priesthood while watching Liverpool FC.
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Where will Pope Francis be buried?
As cardinal, he is known for leading the church’s work tackling human trafficking and modern slavery, for which he received the UN Path to Peace Award.
He was criticised by the UK’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which said he “demonstrated a lack of understanding” of the impact of abuse and “seemingly put the reputation of the church first”.
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3D map shows pope’s funeral route
Cardinal Nichols, responding to the findings, previously told Sky News he was “ashamed at what has happened in the context of the Catholic Church” and promised to improve the church’s response.
He has appeared to rule himself out of the running for pope, telling reporters he was “too old, not capable”.
A man who was shot dead by police had called 999 himself, an initial investigation into the death has suggested.
David Joyce was killed by “a single gunshot wound to the abdomen” after officers shot him at close range outside Milton Keynes railway station on 1 April, according to preliminary findings.
The 38-year-old, who lived in the town, was given first aid by officers but died at the scene.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the circumstances leading up to the death and revealed its initial findings.
It said it had established that Mr Joyce was armed with a 12cm steak knife when he “ran at two officers” before being shot by an officer from a Thames Valley Police armed response unit.
The IOPC said police had been alerted to the incident following a 999 call “from a man reporting that ‘there is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes'”.
“The call handler rang back after the caller hung up during the call and spoke to the man again who said the man with the gun was acting suspiciously, looked like he was about to do something bad and ‘definitely’ had a gun,” it said in a statement.
“Records show that the mobile phone number used to make the 999 call had been used to call police before and was linked to Mr Joyce.
“CCTV footage shows Mr Joyce making a phone call at a time which matches with when the 999 call to police was made.”
Police at the scene of the incident. Pic: PA
An inquest into his death was opened and adjourned at Milton Keynes Coroners’ Court earlier in April and a full hearing will follow after the IOPC investigation concludes.
IOPC Director Derrick Campbell said: “We again extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of David Joyce and all those affected by this incident. We continue to keep his family informed of our progress.
“Our investigators are working hard to piece together the circumstances leading up to Mr Joyce being shot by a police officer and have already carried out a significant amount of enquiries.”
He said the enquiries included accounts from the police officers involved, CCTV from inside and outside the station, footage from officers’ bodyworn cameras and police vehicle dashcam footage, and statements from members of the public who witnessed the shooting.
The IOPC added that, as is standard in investigations following a fatal police shooting, it would “look at the decisions and actions of officers prior to and during their interaction with Mr Joyce – including the medical care they provided at the scene; if the lethal force was necessary, justified and proportionate; and whether the officers followed policy”.
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