Photo taken by Princess Kate of late Queen with grandchildren and great-grandchildren was Photoshopped, agency claims
A PHOTO of the late Queen Elizabeth surrounded by young members of the Royal Family was edited, a picture agency says.
The portrait taken at Balmoral in August 2022 shows Her Majesty posing with ten of her 12 grandkids.
All appear happy and smiley in the snap, taken just weeks before The Queen died at the Aberdeenshire estate.
But there are a number of inconsistencies, including what looks like a superimposed head-shot of Prince Louis.
Mismatched pattern on the Queen’s tartan skirt and cloned sofa buttons are among at least seven alterations.
In a statement, Getty Images said the snap had been “digitally enhanced at source”, The Telegraph reports.
The photo was released on April 21 last year and shows the late monarch at ease with her family.
In the photo are: Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, James, Earl of Wessex, Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips, Prince Louis, Mia Tindall, Lucas Tindall and Savannah Phillips.
Archie and Lilibet, Meghan and Harry’s children and the Queen’s great-grandchildren, are absent in the portrait.
Other irregularities include a black section behind Prince George’s head, cut up cables on the carpet, as well as blurred and inconsistent sections of the sofa.
James Middleton, an Adobe Photoshop expert at Turning Turnip, said there were “tell tale” signs of “repetitive pixels” indicative of cloning.
While “unnaturally straight lines” go against the organic flow of an unedited photograph, he said.
But he stressed edits are a common practice among photographers and the Royal Family were not trying to trick the public with the image.
Mr Middleton told The Sun: “While it seems they only made minor adjustments instead of major changes like adding or removing people, it’s pretty obvious they wanted to improve the picture.
“The goal wasn’t to trick anyone but to capture the mood of the moment without any distractions, such as someone blinking or not smiling.
“It is highly likely a case of the amalgamation multiple shots taken in quick succession to achieve optimal visual harmony—a technique commonly employed by skilled photographers and image editors.
“Artists have been doing this sort of thing for centuries, focusing more on the feel of a scene than getting every detail exactly right.”
On Mother’s Day, Kate Middleton released a photo of her and her three kids.
But within hours, five international picture agencies issued kill notices on the image, saying it had been doctored.
It was later found the picture, taken by Prince William, had been altered in Photoshop.
KATE ‘SORRY’ FOR EDITS
Kate later apologised over her attempt to amend the photo, and the “confusion” it’s caused.
She said in a statement: “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.”
But royal biographer Rob Jobson said “we can’t really blame Kate” for the saga but stressed Kensington Palace should have known it “hasn’t passed muster”.
He told The Sun: “Now it hasn’t passed that muster, if you like, and that’s because it was pretty much an amateur job on doing so.
“So really, there needed to be some advisers around doing that job, making sure that in this modern world of modern communications that you cannot tamper with photographs that are being issued as official photographs.
“It damages the integrity of the organisation that is issuing a photograph.”