Kensington Palace ‘absolutely not’ a ‘trusted source’ after Kate Middleton Photoshop fail, AFP says

Top agencies including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters and Getty Images, along with AFP, then issued a rare “kill notice” to media outlets instructing them to remove the portrait immediately.

“At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP said.

Middleton issued an apology the following day.

“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,” she wrote on X.

“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”

Chetwynd shared that the agencies confabbed before agreeing to pull the image and even asked Kensington Palace to provide the original, which it reportedly refused to do.

The news honcho noted that it is highly unusual for media agencies to pull a photo.

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“To kill something on the basis of manipulation [is rare],” he said. “[We do it] once a year maybe, I hope less. The previous kills we’ve had have been from the North Korean news agency or the Iranian news agency.

“One thing that’s really important is you cannot be distorting reality for the public. There’s a question of trust. And the big issue here is one of trust, and the lack of trust and the falling trust of the general public in institutions generally and in the media. And so it’s extremely important that a photo does represent broadly the reality that it’s seen in.”

The altered photo has only added to the deepening mystery around Middleton’s health.

The palace announced earlier this year that she had undergone a “planned” operation but would not return to the public eye until at least April.

Since then, outlandish conspiracy theories have swirled around her absence.

The palace has refused to comment further, only saying Middleton is “doing well.”

William, meanwhile, has continued carrying out his duties, most recently on Thursday when he was all smiles during an appearance at a youth center in London.