After months of speculation about the whereabouts of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales and future Queen of England, the royal family released a photo today that appears to have been edited. If the intention was to reassure the public about Middleton’s whereabouts, the photo has backfired.
The image is disturbing at first glance, reports The Verge. Everyone is smiling as brightly as if through a Snapchat filter. Middleton is sitting in the picture — this is understandable, given that she underwent some undisclosed abdominal surgery in January — but the perspective seems wrong. Are her arms really that long?
Is she still hangs on the Instagram page of the Prince and Princess of Wales, so you can read the original, but the publication provides several screenshots that look like they were edited by a Photoshop novice who relied too much on the Heal tool.
This image was published several months after Middleton disappeared from the public eye. The royal family has kept her health and the reasons for her absence secret, leading to conspiracy theories. The release of an obviously edited image of her on Mother’s Day in the UK did not help.