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| PRINCE OF WALES |
Catherine of Wales has apologized for the confusion caused by her Mother's Day photograph, which was retracted by five agencies over editing concerns. The image, taken by the Prince of Wales, was the first of her to be released since her surgery in January. The photo was taken by PA, Getty Images, AFP, Associated Press (AP), and Reuters. AP noted an "inconsistency in alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand."
Catherine's statement on Kensington Palace social media, formerly Twitter, read: "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."
The apology comes from the official account of the Prince and Princess of Wales, but it has the personal sign off of "C", for Catherine. It seems that Catherine is taking responsibility for the changes to the photograph, rather than the Prince William, who took the photo, or any of the wider team around the royal couple. According to royal sources, there were "minor adjustments" made by the Princess of Wales to the picture that was put on to Kensington Palace social media. Kensington Palace said it would not be reissuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
The photo was intended as an "amateur, family photograph" released to mark Mother's Day, say royal sources. The implication is that this was not a piece of professional manipulation, but some tidying up of a picture capturing a family moment. The photo will also raise the wider question of how media outlets should use images or social media clips produced without any independent journalists being involved.
The only previous photo of the princess since her operation was a paparazzi shot, which wasn't used by UK news organisations because of concerns around breaching privacy. Most news organizations follow their own strict guidelines on the use of manipulated photographs, only using them when accompanied by an explanation that the image has been changed from the original. News agencies, such as AP, make a commitment to their clients that their photos are accurate and not digitally manipulated.
