Don’t Lie, You Get Why People Think That Photo Of The Queen With 10 Kids Was Edited

Kate Middleton cannot seem to escape the photo editing controversy. Even as she was reportedly seen joining her husband Prince William at a farm shop in Windsor over the weekend — the first time she has “officially” been seen in public since Christmas, if you don’t count those murky, through-the-car-window sightings from earlier this month — people really cannot get over the fact that she admitted to editing family photos. But now news agencies have flagged another photo released by the palace that they believe was potentially altered, this time an older shot of the late Queen Elizabeth with 10 of her grandkids and great-grandchildren.

Now just imagine the way this would go down as a real-life scenario: All those personalities, all of those ages, all needing to smile at exactly the same time in the exact same direction. Best of luck to anyone trying to get that shot.

Earlier this month, the royal family came under fire for releasing a Mother’s Day photo, reportedly taken by Prince William, of Catherine with their three children: 10-year-old Prince George, 8-year-old Princess Charlotte, and 5-year-old Prince Louis. The mom of three eventually issued a carefully-worded apology after news agencies pulled the photo for being “manipulated.” Many people speculated that the photo was actually taken in 2023, and upon closer inspection, there did seem to be many issues with the photo.

The photo of the late Queen Elizabeth posing with two of her grandchildren and eight of her great-grandchildren in honor of what would have been her 97th birthday was released by the palace back in April 2023. Just this week, though CNN and Getty Images analyzed the photo, was which taken at Balmoral months before Queen Elizabeth died in September 2022, and alleged that it had been “digitally enhanced at source” in as many as 19 places.

Buckingham Palace hasn’t addressed these new claims, but we’re inclined to be generous about this one: Queen Elizabeth was 96 years old at that point and there are 10 children in the photo, including Prince Louis, who tends to be a bit of a rascal if given the chance. Honestly, we would have been more surprised if you told us that the photo of all 11 people smiling straight on at the camera and looking calm and relaxed had not been edited in some way. When the photo was initially shared, no one questioned it. Everyone just accepted that this perfect photo of 11 smiling, happy people happened magically. Because that was, sadly, our expectation of the royal family. Effortless perfection.

Listen, if you are deeply into all of the Kate Middleton conspiracy theories, we get it. It has been a bizarre time for the royal family, their tight-lipped refusal to respond to their subjects seems even more pronounced than usual. But let’s not make it all about a poorly edited family photo, shall we? Otherwise we would have drag other celebrities over the coals. Like Kim Kardashian, who has openly admitted she edits family photos and has even been known to photoshop a child into a family Christmas card in a pinch. And guess what? Everyone survived.