Fuss over fake photo:

“Kategate” puts the royals under even more pressure

The photo editing could be seen in the circled areas.

(Bild: APA/AFP/KENSINGTON PALACE/Prince of Wales)

What was meant to be a liberating move turned out to be a PR disaster for the Royal Family. After unprecedented public pressure, Princess Kate admitted on Monday that she had edited a photo of herself and her three children. Instead of clearing up conspiracy theories and speculation about the 42-year-old's health, the palace is now facing even more critical questions.

"The photo that made everything worse," commented Chris Ship, the royals correspondent for ITV. And former BBC royals reporter Peter Hunt raised the question of whether the royals could still be trusted with other issues.

PR disaster
Support for the monarchy has fallen anyway, with younger people's approval ratings recently dropping below 50 percent. The fact that Kate, the royals' no longer secret weapon, has now made such a mistake is considered a particular lapse and PR disaster.

The future Queen's condition has been on the minds of people in the UK and around the world since she underwent an unspecified abdominal operation in mid-January. All that is known is that it is not cancer. The palace had emphasized from the outset that Kate would not return to official appointments until after Easter. However, a number of rumors have recently spread on social media.

Agencies withdrew photo
On Sunday, Kensington Palace published a picture of the smiling Princess of Wales surrounded by her three children for Mother's Day, presumably in an attempt to dampen speculation and even conspiracy theories. The picture was taken by husband and heir to the throne Prince William (41). But the shot backfired.

A few hours after publication, several international news agencies withdrew the picture. The US agency Associated Press (AP) justified the move by saying that the image appeared to have been manipulated by the source "in a way that does not meet AP's photo standards". The photo shows an inconsistency in the depiction of daughter Princess Charlotte's left hand. Other agencies such as Reuters and AFP as well as the British PA followed suit.

Princess Kate has admitted that she herself edited the Mother's Day picture.

(Bild: APA/AFP/KENSINGTON PALACE/Prince of Wales)

Here, Princess Kate made changes to the image.

(Bild: APA/AFP/KENSINGTON PALACE/Prince of Wales)

Kate takes responsibility
The German Press Agency also retracted the picture. The post by Kensington Palace on X (formerly Twitter) was accompanied by a warning from users about the doubts surrounding the image. Nevertheless, the palace does not want to submit the original photo.

There was no response from Kensington Palace for hours. Then, late on Monday morning, Kate herself spoke out and took responsibility for the photo editing. She wrote on X that she "like many amateur photographers, occasionally experiments with image editing" and apologized for any confusion the picture may have caused. Palace sources subsequently said she had made minor changes. There was no further explanation.

New word "Kategate"
But the PR fiasco could no longer be averted. The anti-monarchy organization Republic sensed a scandal, which it immediately dubbed "Kategate". "The manipulation of a picture that the palace says was taken by William is extraordinary. If true, it is a deliberate attempt to deceive the public," the organization said in a statement.

Royal commentators such as Catherine Meyer, biographer of Kate's father-in-law King Charles III, pointed out that the royals surrounding the head of state had a special responsibility to be transparent. "Can we trust you?" was the question the British were asking their sovereign and his family, noted ex-BBC reporter Hunt.

"Bungling instead of conspiracy"
Constitutional and royal expert Craig Prescott from Royal Holloway University of London, on the other hand, sees "more bungling than conspiracy" at work, as he said in an interview with Deutsche Presse-Agentur. Kate is a passionate amateur photographer and has repeatedly made her family photos public in the past. However, she does not appear to have been aware of the limits that are considered acceptable in professional circles when editing the photos.

Nevertheless, he considers the entire process to be a PR disaster. "This is of course very embarrassing." People expect the palace's communication to be absolutely reliable. "The public and the press in general must have confidence in what Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace communicate in order for the monarchy to function," Prescott continued. The photo was intended to dispel doubts about Kate's successful recovery. However, this had not been achieved at all as a result of the debate about the image manipulation.

Under scrutiny for weeks
The royals have been under close scrutiny for weeks. When Prince William missed an appointment at the end of February due to "personal matters", this caused concern. Speculation about Kate's health was further fueled when a statement from the Ministry of Defense had to be withdrawn last week. It had announced Kate's participation in rehearsals for the King's birthday parade "Trooping the Color" in June - apparently without prior consultation with the palace.

The actions of Kensington Palace, which is responsible for the heir to the throne, are in stark contrast to Buckingham Palace's now quite open information policy regarding King Charles' illnesses. The 75-year-old had an operation for an enlarged prostate at almost the same time as Kate. A short time later, the palace announced that the King had been diagnosed with cancer.

King Charles reads recovery cards.

(Bild: APA/Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)

Since then, he has started treatment and has canceled public appointments until further notice. Nevertheless, he can still be seen in pictures of appointments behind closed doors. A video address by the King on Commonwealth Day was only released on Monday. There is little speculation about his health.