THE royal family has been hit with a community note on Twitter/X highlighting that an image of the late Queen Elizabeth has been photoshopped.
The photograph in question was posted in April 2023 by the Kensington Palace account, which officially speaks for the Prince and Princess of Wales.
It claimed: “Today would have been Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s 97th birthday.
“This photograph – showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren – was taken at Balmoral last summer.”
It then credited the image, shown below, to “the princess”, presumably Kate Middleton.
However, the photo has clearly been edited.
Prince Louis, Kate and William’s third child, has tell-tale signs of photoshop around his face. The Queen’s skirt shows a clear image cut, and similar ones appear on the green sofa in multiple places.
Repetition, another tell-tale sign of image manipulation, is also visible in the hair of Mia Tindall, the eldest child of Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall.
And there is a small part of black background behind Prince George which does not seem to fit in the context of the photo.
A community note – a feature on Twitter/X that allows users to add context to posts – has been put underneath the Kensington Palace image.
It states: “This image appears to have been digitally altered to give the impression that everyone within it was present at the same time.
“It is not a photograph of a moment, rather a collage of moments put together to create an illusion of a photograph.”
The note raises questions about the Palace’s claim that the image was “taken at Balmoral” in 2022.
Kensington Palace has been asked for comment.
The news comes after international news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) said that Kensington Palace was no longer a trusted source for images after a row over an image of Kate and her children which was released on mother’s day.
Other news agencies, including PA, had “killed” the image, citing concerns around “the absence of clarification from Kensington Palace on the veracity of the image”.
READ MORE: 'Ridiculous' Kate Middleton photo apology 'gives no answers' to public
The royals were forced to admit the image was photoshopped after it was pointed out that it contained clear signs of editing.
In a statement signed “C”, Kensington Palace implied that Kate had edited the image herself.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," it said.
"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."
That photo of the princess was the first released since she was admitted to the London Clinic, a private hospital, for a planned operation on January 16.
King Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26, the 11th day of Kate’s stay. She was also visited by William.
Kate left the hospital on January 29, almost two weeks later, and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
Details of the princess’s condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
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