Princess Kate has been 'thrown under the bus' amid Photoshop fiasco, expert says

Richard Eden thinks this is not on

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attends the Earthshot Prize 2021 at Alexandra Palace on October 17, 2021 in London, England.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Kate shouldn't have had to apologise over the photo-editing drama that erupted this past weekend, one royal editor says.

"I'm just so sad and sort of frustrated about the whole thing, because I feel so sorry for Catherine," Daily Mail Diary editor Richard Eden told Palace Confidential.

"Essentially, she's been under so much pressure from people saying 'we want a photo, we want to know how she is, tell us how she is,' that sort of thing.

"And she finally issues this photograph, it's taken by Prince William — they make that clear when they issue the photograph.

"It's not some personal thing, it's issued by Kensington Palace communications people and then she has been thrown under a bus."

In case you somehow missed this story (with all due respect, how?!), the Prince and Princess of Wales released a Mother's Day family photo on Sunday, which served as an update of sorts on Kate's wellbeing amid her recovery from abdominal surgery.

Unfortunately, people were quick to notice that the picture had been edited in several places, which caused several photo and news agencies to pull the image from their platforms.

After this, the Palace issued a short and vague apology from Kate which admitted to editing the photo but without going into further detail. This decision on the Firm's part was unfair, according to Richard.

"I think it's disgraceful. I think it's very ungentlemanly of Prince William to put the onus on her. For goodness sake, he's the one who took the photograph," the journalist said.

"And they are the ones, the officials, who made it public. They gave it out, it's their job. I think it's absolutely disgraceful that they've said to her 'you go an explain what you did.' No, it's your job."

He concluded: "Take some responsibility."

It's been a trying week for the Waleses, as a photo that was meant to quell speculation has done exactly the opposite. In fact, Kate has been reported to feel "awful and sad" over the whole thing. Well, let's hope it all blows over soon.

Iris Goldsztajn
Iris Goldsztajn is a celebrity and royal news writer for Marie Claire.
As a London-based freelance journalist, she writes about wellness, relationships, pop culture, beauty and more for the likes of InStyle, Women's Health, Bustle, Stylist and Red. Aside from her quasi-personal investment in celebs' comings and goings, Iris is especially interested in debunking diet culture and destigmatising mental health struggles.
Previously, she was the associate editor for Her Campus, where she oversaw the style and beauty news sections, as well as producing gift guides, personal essays and celebrity interviews. There, she worked remotely from Los Angeles, after returning from a three-month stint as an editorial intern for Cosmopolitan.com in New York.
As an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles, she interned at goop and C California Style and served as Her Campus' national style and LGBTQ+ editor. Iris was born and raised in France by a French father and an English mother. Her Spotify Wrapped is riddled with country music and One Direction, and she can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.