The photographer who shot Princess of Wales Kate Middleton this week has been forced to deny the image was doctored after speculation that the picture had been Photoshopped. Photographer Jim Bennett captured Kate departing Windsor Castle, U.K., in a car on the same day that the princess admitted to editing an image of herself posing with her children in 2024’s biggest photo controversy so far. Yall!? Has no one else noticed that the most recent photo of #KateMiddleton in the car… the bricks in the car windows, don’t appear to match the bricks outside the car… Is this another photoshopped picture… can anyone find the original they clipped it from? #KateGate WTF?! pic.twitter.com/D730OsfJCI — Indomitable (@NdomitableNegro) March 12, 2024 However, social media users were quick to claim that Bennett’s photo of Kate sitting beside her husband Prince William in the backseat of a chauffeured car appeared to have been doctored. ‘Is This Another Photoshopped Picture?’ Online users claimed that the photograph, which shows Kate with her face turned away from the camera, featured mismatched bricks on the wall behind them.
“Has no one else noticed that the most recent photo of Kate Middleton in the car?” An individual asks in a post viewed 2.9 million times on X (formerly known as Twitter.) “The bricks in the car windows don’t appear to match the bricks outside the car. Is this another Photoshopped picture?” They used a Christmas day photo. They erased her earring, her hat brim can clearly be seen, as can the top be seen obscuring the rectangle in the interior of the car… then they added some noise to make it harder to discern the edits… they are really bad at this!!! pic.twitter.com/viy928YRr1 — So long, London 🇬🇧 (@STILL_BJEWELED) March 11, 2024 Other social media users claimed that Kate’s profile showed evidence of being cut out from an older photograph and speculated that the princess’ silhouette was edited into the new image. An X user claimed that the image of Kate in the car had originally been taken in December — which was the last time Kate had been seen in public before undergoing abdominal surgery in January. ‘We Don’t Change Our Photos in Photoshop’ However, photographer Jim Bennett has now responded to the accusations on social media and firmly denied that the image has been altered.
“We don’t change our photos in Photoshop other than adjusting the light levels if necessary,” Bennett tells The New York Post. Bennett says he and a partner were hired by a news outlet to get a shot of Prince William heading to Westminster Abbey for a royal event. “The cars left Windsor Castle and I photographed them a short distance away on Datchet High Street — outside No. 39, to be precise!” Bennett adds. “Car shots are unpredictable at the best of times and with some reflection on the glass, it can be difficult. “As it happened, it wasn’t until I checked on the back of the camera to make sure I had a frame of Prince William that I realized there was someone sitting next to him. It turned out to be Catherine!” The New York Post reports that the “Datchet High Street” address provided by Bennett debunks suspicions that the photograph was doctored. The publication also notes that while the grouting between the bricks does appear inconsistent in the photo, closer inspection of the building shows an outer brick wall at car level, which has notably different grouting than what is visible on the building itself higher up.
How Kate Middleton Ended The Public’s Trust in Photographs The further suspicions around Bennett’s image reveal just how much Kate has eroded any remaining trust in photographs. As PetaPixel‘s Matt Growcoot pointed out in an editorial, Kate’s admission to altering her photograph has undermined the already dwindling trust in the still image. Matt writes: “Whatever drama is happening inside the walls of Kensington Palace, a huge blow has just been dealt to the idea of the photograph because if Kate Middleton has the audacity to put out a manipulated image, anyone does.” The general public used to believe that the camera never lies and that a photograph always revealed the truth. But, in the age of deepfakes, generative AI, and Photoshop, the public now feel a pervasive distrust and suspicion around photographs (and that distrust could be extended to videos too). In a post-truth universe, no-one can believe a photograph. Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
