As U.K. Royals Struggle to Calm Rumors, Agency Flags Older Edited Photo

When Catherine, Princess of Wales, confessed last week to digitally altering a photo of her with her children, news agencies began examining Catherine’s gallery of royal family photos for other examples of doctoring.

It didn’t take long: On Monday, Getty Images placed an editorial advisory on a second photo taken by Catherine, of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, saying the image had been altered before it was released by the palace.

In a statement, the news agency said that “in accordance with its editorial policy it has placed an editor’s note on a handout image stating the image has been digitally enhanced at source.”

The second altered photo raises further thorny questions about how Britain’s royal family communicates with the public. It also piles more scrutiny on Catherine, who has been caught in a maelstrom of rumors and speculation since she underwent abdominal surgery in January and receded from the public eye.

The Mother’s Day photo of her with her children, taken by her husband, Prince William, and released 10 days ago, was meant to calm the storm of questions. But it ignited a fresh round of speculation after The Associated Press, Reuters, Getty and other agencies recalled the image, saying it had been improperly manipulated.

A keen amateur photographer, Catherine has documented the royal family in many private moments, and sometimes tweaking the results, she admitted last week. Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace, where she and William have their offices, have distributed these photos to the news media, and they regularly appear on the front pages of British papers.