A major picture agency has revealed a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II, which was released last year, was “digitally enhanced”.
The photo, which was released last April to mark the late monarch’s 97th birthday, shows the Queen sitting on a couch surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The portrait was said to be taken by Kate Middleton in August 2022, just weeks before the Queen passed away.
Although the photo has been public for almost a year, Getty Images has now announced that the picture was manipulated.
A spokesperson told The Telegraph: “Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source.”
According to the outlet, the image contains “several inconsistencies”, including the pattern of the Queen’s skirt, and a digital repetition of Mia Tindall’s hair.
The photo features Prince William and Kate’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis; as well as their royal cousins Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, James, Earl of Wessex, Lena Tindall, Isla Phillips, Mia Tindall, Lucas Tindall and Savannah Phillips.
The news comes amid the furore surrounding a photo that was released of the Princess of Wales on Mother’s Day earlier this month.
Princess Kate has remained out of the spotlight since January, as she’s currently recovering from abdominal surgery.
But on March 10th, the 42-year-old broke her silence on social media to share a photo of herself and their kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, to celebrate Mother’s Day in the UK.
However, things took a dramatic turn when several of the world’s biggest international photo agencies said the photograph issued of Kate and her three children had been “manipulated”.
The Associated Press (AP) Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images all separately issued a “kill notice” to media organisations around the globe, confirming they had each deleted the image from their individual libraries.
Kate later issued an apology in a statement shared on social media.
She wrote: “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.”
A palace source also added: “The Princess has shared a statement on social media. 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. The Princess made minor adjustments as she shared in her statement on social media.”
“The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”
Amid the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate’s health and whereabouts over the past two months, the Princess of Wales was filmed out and about for the first time in Windsor over the weekend.
The mother-of-three appeared in good spirits as she walked alongside her husband William at The Windsor Farm Shop.
Kate is expected to return to public duties after Easter, after undergoing surgery on January 16 at The London Clinic.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace previously said that the Princess was “making good progress”.
They continued: “The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.
“The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
In a previous statement, a spokesperson said: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.”
“She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”
“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
