Royals

Timeline of Princess Kate photo scandal: From moment pic was taken to why edits were made, royal apology and new picture with William

All she wanted was a nice 'informal' snap with her children to share…

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The Princess Kate photo scandal that erupted over the weekend has left the recovering royal feeling deeply upset and angry, it’s been claimed.

From Prince William taking the shot to picture agencies pulling the image from their libraries and Kate’s apology, it’s been a tumultuous 48 hours for the Prince and Princess of Wales. In the most recent twist, Instagram has acted by placing a red “altered” banner over the image.

Here’s everything that went down in ED!’s full timeline…

Princess Kate wearing a navy jacket and pointing
Princess Kate has found herself embroiled in a photo editing scandal over the past two days (Credit: Splash News)

Friday March 8

Prince William was reportedly given a 40-minute window to take the now infamous photograph of his wife and their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The busy schedules of the Wales family meant the picture had to be taken while everyone was back at home in Windsor from various activities.

It was taken on a £2,900 Canon camera after weeks of planning by Kensington Palace in a bid to quell social media speculation about Kate’s abdominal surgery and her three-month recovery away from the spotlight.

Saturday March 9

The Princess of Wales is said to have edited the photo on Saturday before sending it to her team.

According to The Times, royal sources said the princess made “minor adjustments” to the picture. It’s said that she and William had hoped the snap would be a lovely “informal” shot to share on Mother’s Day.

Their Royal Highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day.

“This was an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales. Their Royal Highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day,” said a source.

It’s claimed that Kate edited the picture twice in Photoshop. She did this to “make it the best it can be” and was “thinking of her own children when editing the picture, hoping that they looked good for their own sakes”, the source said.

Sunday March 10

At around 9am on Mother’s Day, the picture was released on Instagram. The reaction was initially one of glee, with royal fans delighted to see Kate looking so well and happy with her children.

It was captioned: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.

“[Camera emoji] The Prince of Wales, 2024.”

However, late on Sunday, amid claims from royal fans the picture had been edited, the Associated Press issued a “kill notification”. This is an industry term used to make a retraction.

It said: “At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent.”

Six of the world’s top picture agencies then sensationally pulled the photo from their libraries.

Apology statement from Kate Middleton
The apology statement in full as a result of the scandal (Credit: Instagram)

Monday March 11

Midway through the morning on Monday, the royal family decided to come clean. It’s claimed the Princess of Wales decided honesty was “the best policy” and wanted to “own up” to the Photoshop blunder.

Additionally, it’s said she felt “awful” and was just trying to make the picture “the best it could be”.

The Princess of Wales then issued a full apology over her editing of the photograph.

It read: “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,” it then added.

Later that day, Kate was seen leaving Windsor Castle in a car with Prince William.

It’s been reported that she was heading to a private appointment. William, meanwhile, attended the Commonwealth Day service with his stepmother, Queen Camilla.

As a result of the furore, there are now calls for Kensington Palace to release the original photograph of Kate and the kids.

March 13 – Instagram acts

In the most recent twist, Instagram has placed a banner over the image. The message reads: “Altered photo/video. The same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post.”

When clicking into the alert, it reads: “Independent fact-checkers say that the photo or image has been edited in a way that could mislead people, but not because it was shown out of context.”

Read more: All the inconsistencies spotted in the Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day photograph

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Nancy Brown
Associate Editor

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