Portrait of late Queen with royal children was manipulated

A photograph of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, taken by the Princess of Wales, was “digitally enhanced at source”, a global picture agency has said.

The photo, taken at Balmoral in August 2022, was reviewed by Getty Images after the Princess admitted that she had edited a Mother’s Day picture of herself and her three children.

Buckingham Palace released it on April 21 last year to mark what would have been the late Queen’s 97th birthday.

A spokesman for Getty said: “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.”

Close inspection of the picture appears to show several inconsistencies, including a vertical line where the tartan of the late Queen’s skirt does not match.

A dark shadow is visible behind Prince Louis’s ear, and a similar small black patch can be seen behind Prince George’s shirt collar. There are also signs of digital repetition of Mia Tindall’s hair.

Earlier this month, the Princess’s Mother’s Day picture was withdrawn by several news agencies, which issued a “kill” notice, because of the extent to which it had been manipulated.

The latest development will come as a blow to the Princess, a keen amateur photographer, who is understood to have been distressed by the furore surrounding the more recent image.

Both she and Prince William are keen to move on from the drama and put the focus back on their work.

On Thursday, the Prince will be hoping to put speculation about his wife’s health behind him as he carries out two engagements in Sheffield linked to Homewards, his drive to put six pilot locations on a path towards ending homelessness within five years.

The Mothering Sunday photo of her posing with her children at home in Windsor had been intended to reassure the public that she was fit and well following several weeks out of the public eye as she recuperated from abdominal surgery. 

But it had the opposite effect, serving to fuel conspiracy theories about her health and whereabouts.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the Princess said in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter, last Monday. 

“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.”

Such is the level of curiosity about the Princess’s health that on Monday, The Sun reported on its front page that she had been spotted at a farm shop in Windsor.

The revelation that another of her photographs was edited to such an extent that a global agency has attached a warning note may prompt questions about her many other family portraits released to the media to mark special occasions.

Last week, the American brodacster CNN confirmed that it was reviewing all photographs handed out by Kensington Palace.

Phil Chetwynd, the global news director of Agence France-Presse, said Kensington Palace was no longer a “trusted source” and that the Princess’s manipulation of the Mother’s Day photograph “clearly” violated the agency’s rules.

Noting that it was rare for agencies to “kill” an image, he said Agence France-Presse’s hand had been forced because the Palace did not respond to requests for an explanation or to release the original image.

The rare family portrait of Elizabeth II depicts her on a green sofa in a cluttered sitting room at Balmoral, surrounded by 10 beaming children. Dressed in off-duty attire, she looks directly at the camera in a photograph taken only weeks before she died.

Her grandchildren Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, are standing at the back.

In front of them are Lena Tindall, the daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the two elder children of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Isla Phillips, the daughter of Peter Phillips, and Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Seated to the monarch’s right is Mia Tindall, holding baby Lucas Tindall, while to her left is Savannah Phillips. The homely image, a rare informal snapshot of the family, was lauded when it was released.

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children, were notable absentees. Living more than 5,000 miles away in Montecito, California, the Sussexes were the only senior members of the family who did not fly to Scotland to spend time with the Queen that summer.

Getty is understood to be the only agency that retains the image in its library. Other news and picture agencies no longer hold it as it was released for use until December 2023.

A community note – a feature on X, formerly Twitter, that allows users to add context to posts – has also been added to the image on Kensington Palace’s profile.

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.”

There is no suggestion that the Princess inserted anyone into the photograph.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.