Will Prince William, Kate Middleton share photo for Prince Louis’ birthday after editing controversy?
Prince Louis turns 6 on April 23, but will his parents Kate Middleton and Prince William share a new portrait of him after the Princess of Wales’ photo editing incident?
The Sunday Times reports that the couple will carry on their tradition of releasing a new photo of their youngest child on his birthday, according to People magazine.
An aide told the outlet in March that the pair “appreciate the public’s love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays”.
Other sources told the Times that no “firm decision” had been made as to whether Kate herself would take the photo or hire a professional photographer.
William, 41, and Kate, 42, share new photos of their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis every year on their birthdays, with self-described “amateur photographer” Kate often behind the lens.
But in recent months, royal photos have come under the microscope since Kate apologised for “confusion” around the Mother’s Day photo released on the holiday in the UK. Hours after the photo was released on March 10, several photo agencies recalled it due to fears it had been manipulated.
The next day, a royal statement attributed to Kate read: “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.”
Further concerns were raised when Getty Images revealed on March 18 that a photo Kate took of the late Queen Elizabeth with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren had apparently also been manipulated.
A Getty spokesperson told the Daily Telegraph at the time: “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.”
Britain-based PR and crisis communications expert Mark Borkowski told People that the editing furore did not bode well for the royal family’s image.
“The difficulty now is because there is so little information about what’s happening to Kate, if they were going to project things are all normal in this way - with a photo that is now deemed to be fake - it is pretty damning about the floundering and the poor decision making that’s going on,” Borkowski said of the Mother’s Day photo at the time.