Royals latest: Why rumour about Kate video is untrue – as doubt emerges about second photo
Key points
- Laughing Prince William photographed todayPicture agency changes notes on another royal photo|Seven ways photo of late Queen was editedKate and Will pictured ‘happy and smiling”Forget that rumour’: Royal correspondent sets record straight over Kate video’Where is Kate?’: US reaction to royal story is ‘extraordinary’Harry and Meghan moved down the Royal Family websiteNeed to catch up? Here’s what’s going on with KateLive reporting by Jess Sharp
13:35:01 Princess Royal meets Korean War veterans
The Princess Royal has welcomed Korean War veterans at Buckingham Palace after they met the King.
Princess Anne was joined by Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, as she spoke to Major General Eldon Millar and the Korean ambassador to the UK Yeocheol Yoon.
The pair are hosting around 200 veterans in the Bow Room before Anne delivers a speech on behalf of the King to mark the 70th anniversary of the conflict.
The war ended with the signing of an armistice on 27 July 1953 and the anniversary was acknowledged during the Korean state visit to the UK in November.
British and Commonwealth forces were deployed following a United Nations call to support South Korea after the invasion by its northern neighbour.
Of the around 60,000 members of the British Armed Forces who served, more than 1,100 were killed and 2,500 were wounded, according to the National Army Museum.
12:34:30 Meanwhile, the King is hosting at the palace
The King has been photographed hosting an audience with veterans of the Korean War at Buckingham Palace to mark the 70th anniversary of the conflict.
The monarch met Alan Guy, Mike Mogridge, Brian Parritt and Ron Yardley in the 18th Century Room.
Later, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Edinburgh will host a reception for around 200 Korean War veterans in the Bow Room.
12:11:51 Laughing Prince William photographed
Prince William has arrived in Sheffield to unveil plans to help end homelessness in the UK.
It’s the first time the Prince of Wales has been seen since he was spotted visiting a farm shop in Windsor with Kate at the weekend.
William is visiting the city in South Yorkshire as part of his Homewards initiative, which aims to connect families who have experienced homelessness with community reps and local organisations.
Those attending will take part in a workshop to help design the area’s new housing project.
He is also due to formally announce a £1m boost to the initiative from Homebase.
The DIY retailer is providing the project with 1,500 home starter packs which include paint, furniture and flooring.
11:23:56 Analysis: Video of Will and Kate is significant – and we know it really is her
Yesterday, a video emerged of the Prince and Princess of Wales visiting a farm shop in Windsor, and already rumours about the clip have started to circulate online.
Some have claimed the video features a clone of Kate or a body double, with US TV host Andy Cohen suggested it wasn’t her.
However, our royal correspondent Laura Bundock says the rumours are “outrageous” and it definitely is the princess.
“This is a significant image, without a doubt,” she says.
“It is her, trust me. We have run this image through a face matching tool and it is Kate. There is no question of that, so forget that rumour.”
However, she adds it is still not clear when we will see the 42-year-old return to public duties – and it doesn’t look like it will be before Easter.
“Kensington Palace said her return to public duties will be based on medical advice taken at the time. We haven’t had any running commentary on her condition and we don’t know when we’ll see her again,” she says.
10:42:02 Seven ways photo of late Queen was edited
As we have been reporting, a second royal photo has been questioned this morning after a major picture agency said it had been “digitally enhanced”.
The image of the late Queen was shared by Kensington Palace on 21 April last year, on what would have been the monarch’s 97th birthday.
It was said to have been taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral in the summer of 2022.
You can see it below…
Sky News has been speaking to a photo forensics expert, who has confirmed seven ways it could have been edited:
1) To the left of the button on the sofa, there appears to be a vertical edit line running down the image – causing the folds that run from the button to the left to be out of line.
2) This edit line runs down the whole image to the edge of the Queen’s blanket. You can see the cross stitching that runs from right to left is out of kilter.
3) Just under Prince Louis’ ear (he’s in the striped shirt), there appears to be something that could be his hair, but further round to his cheek, it looks like an uneven cutout.
4) Near the arm of the Queen’s great-granddaughter Savannah Phillips (the girl on her right in the red dress), a small blemish can be seen that may have been added in accidentally in the editing process.
5) There is also a clear vertical line on the edge of the sofa that makes a 90-degree turn to the left with a blue blemish, which is not part of the sofa.
6) Under the arm of the chair, some unusual black and white zigzagging can be seen. It looks as though someone has tried to fade it out.
7) The locks of Mia Tindall’s hair (she is the girl sitting to the left of Queen Elizabeth) are duplicated and there is a clear edit vertical line which breaks the indent and shadow of the sofa button.
10:09:17 Harry and Meghan moved down the Royal Family website
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s individual profiles on the Royal Family website have been replaced with a combined one which is further down the page.
The couple are now below the Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra – and alongside the scandal-hit Prince Andrew.
The joint profile includes some of the work they have done, such as Prince Harry’s Invictus Games and Sentebale charity in Lesotho, and Meghan being a patron of several organisations.
09:27:51 ‘Where is Kate?’: US reaction to royal story is ‘extraordinary’
From A-list celebrities referencing the Princess of Wales on social media to comments about doctoring images at the White House, we’ve seen a big reaction to the edited royal photo in the US.
The photo aimed to quell speculation about Kate’s health since she spent a short period in hospital in January for abdominal surgery, shortly after her 42nd birthday.
The princess has since been filmed smiling and looking happy while out shopping with her husband Prince William, but The Sun’s footage came after the edited image prompted far-fetched conspiracy theories – not just here but in the United States as well.
Sky News analysis shows the number of mentions in the US of “Kate Middleton” on Facebook and Instagram on the day before the photo was released (9 March) was about 2,600. The day after her photo was released, 11 March, there were more than 128,000 mentions.
You can read more on this story here…
08:58:54 Picture agency changes notes on another royal photo
Getty Images has changed its notes on another royal photo, telling its customers the image has been “digitally enhanced”.
The picture, which was posted by the Prince and Princess of Wales’s official X account last April, featured the late Queen with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
It was marked as being taken at Balmoral in the summer of 2022 by Kate.
You can see it here…
Getty Images said the editor’s note on the photo had been changed in accordance with its editorial policy.
It comes a week after major picture agencies pulled a photo of Kate and her three children over concerns it was “manipulated” at the source.
Kate later apologised for the doctored Mother’s Day photograph, saying she had edited the image.
In a statement released at the time, the 42-year-old 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.”
08:51:10 Trust in royals remains undented – despite most people seeing conspiracy theories online
More than half of people in the UK have seen conspiracy theories on social media about why the Princess of Wales is absent from public life, but it hasn’t dented trust in the Royal Family, polling for Sky News shows.
William and Kate have faced social media speculation surrounding Kate’s health and whereabouts after it was announced in January that she had abdominal surgery and would not undertake public engagements until after Easter.
The couple were filmed shopping in Windsor at the weekend – a week after Kate admitted to editing a photo of her and the couple’s children that was released for Mother’s Day.
The poll, carried out by YouGov, showed 51% of people have seen theories about her absence online, while 44% said they have not and 5% were unsure.
It also revealed how more than one in three people (36%) thought the royals released too little detail about her surgery.
Some 41% thought they released the right amount and 5% thought it was too much information.
People believed the King’s announcement of his cancer diagnosis was better judged – with 64% saying the information released struck the right balance, against 14% who wanted to know more and 4% who wanted to know less.
Overall, trust in the royals appeared to be holding.
Almost one in 10 people (9%) said they trust the Princess of Wales less – but the same number trust her more.
Trust in the King was better, as 5% of people said they trust him less, whereas 11% say they trust him more. The majority, 72%, said their opinion has not changed.
Trust in the Queen has risen by 9% in recent months – while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have fared worse.
Some 13% of people trust Prince Harry less, against 5% who trust him more – 69% didn’t change their opinion.
Meghan was less trusted by 11% of people but more trusted by 4%. Again, the majority didn’t change their opinion.
Of the royals that people were asked about, the Duchess of Sussex was trusted the least, 54% of people don’t trust her and haven’t changed their minds in recent months, according to the online poll of 2,081 adults.
The poll was undertaken between 15-17 March.
08:39:18 Kate and William pictured ‘happy and smiling’
The Princess of Wales has been filmed smiling and looking happy while out shopping with Prince William.
The couple were seen strolling through a car park on Saturday, in video published by The Sun, which said they were at Windsor Farm Shop, close to their home.
Kate, 42, was wearing a hoodie and leggings and carried her own shopping, while the Prince of Wales was dressed in a blue coat, jeans, trainers and a baseball cap.
None of their three children – 10-year-old Prince George, Princess Charlotte, eight, and five-year-old Prince Louis – were with them.
The paper quoted shopper Nelson Silva, who took the video, and said they appeared “super relaxed”, while Kate looked “happy and relaxed”.
Another eyewitness who watched the footage said it was “just a woman shopping with her husband on a Saturday afternoon just like thousands of other couples across the country”.
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