Following their Photoshop fail, the Waleses find themselves in the centre of a storm
After a rocky start to the year for the royal family, with King Charles and Kate Middleton’s shock health revelations, they probably hoped March would bring more calm than chaos. However, following Kate’s Photoshop scandal last week, more fuel has been thrown onto an already burning fire, leaving many questioning what’s happening inside palace walls – and even triggering wild rumours that Kate and Wills’ marriage is in trouble.
When the Princess of Wales, 42, posted a sweet Mother’s Day portrait of her smiling alongside children George, ten, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, it should have come as reassurance for the public that she was doing well. After all, the post reportedly showed the first picture of Kate in weeks, after she stepped back from public duties to recover from “planned abdominal surgery”. However, chaos ensued when internet sleuths picked up on a number of anomalies.
Charlotte’s sleeve appeared to be detached from her arm, parts of the background were visibly blurred, and Kate was without her engagement and wedding rings.
Suspicions mounted further after it was alleged that Kate’s face had been superimposed from a prior magazine shoot, with online commenters also arguing that the outfits bore striking similarities to a family appearance back in November. Then, though it is incredibly rare for the palace to address internet speculation, the Princess of Wales issued a public apology, shocking the world with the statement, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” adding, “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion.”
Just hours after the apology, Kate was photographed leaving Windsor Palace in a car with William. While he was on his way to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, Kate was said to be going to a private appointment. But rather than quelling the disquiet, her surprise appearance made every move seem more staged than ever. Now, our source says that the Waleses feel Kate has been left to take the fall.
“The Photoshop scandal has become an unmitigated disaster, and from Kate and William’s point of view, it’s a situation that was entirely preventable,” says our insider. “Kate fell on the sword because that’s who she is. Of course, it’s nonsense to suggest she was solely responsible for this photo fail. There were plenty of other people overseeing the distribution –it’s not like she was going to do this all by herself – but she doesn’t want people pointing fingers.”
But while Kate took the blame, we’re told tensions have bubbled up behind closed doors. �
