After a morning of debate – and a lot of fun on social media – about a so-called 'kill notification' issued on a royal image by press agencies, 'C' (Princess Catherine, or Kate Middleton) has said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."
Admittedly the original image is generally credited to the Prince of Wales/Kensington Palace – so in my joking headline I'd asked if we might see the Prince William at the Photography Show this weekend picking up some Photoshop tips – but I think most families understand that one person might press the shutter and another review the images and make any tweaks.
Moreover in a united family that regularly deals with the press, it's probably not unreasonable that images are just handed over with a standard copyright!
Do you know, I'd be willing to be that the Royal Family of the UK might even employ people to look after their social media, too!
Kate Middleton is however is a long-time keen photographer, using a variety of cameras, and who became the patron of the Royal Photographic Society in 2019. The Princess of Wales even photographed Queen Camilla for a cover of Country Life magazine in 2022.
Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 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. CMarch 11, 2024
This response might be enough to answer most reasonable people's level of concern about the photo (and get some sympathy from the very many of the followers who have very likely tried to tweak their own images for Instagram). It has also, of course, provided more fuel for those seeking to make fun online since they have another quote to work with. It might be a little harder this time, but there are some emerging already:
Like many amateur photographers I also occasionally experiment with editing#KateMiddleton pic.twitter.com/qCZ0mLp3HGMarch 11, 2024
A lot of people will be asking themselves where they draw the line with their image manipulation after these events. Perhaps what is more interesting is the fact that while commenters were quick to ask "I thought William took the photo?" it's considered not even something to comment on that the subject of the image is taking it in this day and age.
Does that make it a selfie (at least when it comes to discussion of editing, if not copyright, as mentioned)? Do the family consider themselves part of a photo processing team which just had a bad day? These are the reasons I can think of for phrasing the apology in the first person.
As such, if you set aside the royal conspiracy theories (I know, it's hard to do for some), does this tell us more about how little we need to emphasise the 'self' aspect of 'self-portrait' any more. It is known, after all, that Catherine is the 'keen photographer' in the family, so, copyright notes aside, it seems more likely the image was hers. There was a time, though, where that composition would have been more noted – pre-social media era.
Kate Middleton is a Fujifilm user so which is the best Fujifilm camera right now?
