Kensington Palace is no longer a "trusted source" of information, a director of one of the world's largest news agencies said, after the Princess of Wales admitted to editing a portrait of herself and her children released to mark Mother's Day in Britain.
Phil Chetwynd, the global news director of Agence France-Presse (AFP), made the bombshell comments on BBC Radio 4's The Media Show on Wednesday, in a discussion about the controversy surrounding Kate's photo and how it had caused several agencies to issue "kill" notices asking news outlets to cease publication as it violated image manipulation guidelines.
Asked outright if Kensington Palace was a "trusted source" after the scandal, Chetwynd responded: "No, absolutely not. Like with anything, when you're let down by a source the bar is raised."
"We sent out notes to all our teams at the moment to be absolutely super more vigilant about the content coming across our desk," he added. "Even from what we would call trusted sources."
Newsweek approached Kensington Palace via email for comment.
The development calls into question whether other major news agencies will make similar statements and whether that will affect the way the palace takes and distributes official photographs in the future.
This is not the first time Kensington Palace has been criticized for its handling of media and information distribution. Responding to Chetwynd's comments on Thursday, royal biographer Omid Scobie posted to X (formerly Twitter) that he had previously highlighted these in his recent book.
"There are dozens of pages of reporting and detailed statements to support this in my book Endgame," he said. "This not just about one poorly-managed photo release, it is years of deceit, cover-ups and lies."
The photo drama was heightened as the Mother's Day portrait released on March 10 was the first official image of the Princess of Wales since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
The princess has been out of the public eye for over two months, with Kensington Palace providing minimal updates, refusing to be drawn into giving a "running commentary" on her recovery.
This has led to a number of conspiracy theories and a rise in speculation about Kate's health and whereabouts online and in the world's media, ranging from the serious claim that she was "missing" to humorous jokes and memes.
After the Mother's Day portrait showing the royal seated in a chair surrounded by her three children (Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis) was released, social media users quickly highlighted evidence of editing throughout the frame, including masking errors around Charlotte's sleeve and Louis' trousers.
This led to a spike in further conspiracy theories about the princess' condition and was followed by the news that agencies such as Getty Images and the Associated Press had issued "kill" notices to news outlets stopping the further distribution of the portrait.
Just over 24 hours after its distribution, Kate made a rare personal apology, writing on social media: "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. C."
This has done little to quash speculation as the princess remains behind palace doors, not expected to resume her diary of public appearances until after Easter.
Kensington Palace has made no further comment on the photo scandal or the princess' health and recovery.
Update 03/14/24, 12:23 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
