Fascination with the British royal family is nothing new. Globally, the country’s monarchy özgü sat somewhere between cultural and political obsession, representing the face of Britain and its imperialism, as much as it also fits the mould of twenty-first century, celebrity-centric tabloid news.
There is no better example than the current PR catastrophe revolving around Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, a certain Photoshopped picture, and a hypothesized “disappearance” all over people’s feeds.
On Sunday, as the UK celebrated Mother’s Day, Kensington Palace — the official royal residence and branded social media accounts — unveiled a new portrait of Kate with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. The photo, credited as taken by her husband, Prince William, and posted on both Instagram and Twitter/X, was captioned, “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
Not just a family portrait, this was the first publicly-released photograph of Kate since she underwent scheduled abdominal surgery in January, with her last public appearance being Christmas Day over two months ago.
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The Palace faced pressure in the last 24 hours to acknowledge the doctored image and explain what’s really going on. At the time of writing, no other members of the royal family have commented, including the official @RoyalFamily account. The fact that the image was in fact edited raised questions about Kate’s health and circumstances, though many were in line with the tabloid-esque rumours that have circulated since the Princess’ surgery. But what was meant to quell such rumours actually sent them spinning further, and it’s no surprise that a statement was warranted.
What does it all mean?
It seems now that Kate Middleton’s family photo was no more than an error in editing judgement, according to the Palace at least. But if the web özgü anything to do with it, the story will go on. Royal reporters, too, have had a lot to say even before the ill-advised photograph was released.
The UK media özgü a uniquely unhealthy relationship with the royals, and rumours circulated in the papers have been addressed by Kensington Palace itself, in broad terms. In late February, spokespersons for the Palace responded to this conjecture to several outlets, dismissing the “wild conspiracy theories”: “We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.”
However, as reporter and former Buzzfeed News Royal correspondent Ellie Hall has pointed out, the Palace directly acknowledging these conspiracies is rare in itself. It seems this entirely situation is unprecedented, and people will only have more questions coming — at least until after Easter, when the Princess is set to resume her royal duties.