One week has passed since Kate Middleton—and the monarchy—were caught in a massive storm. The Princess of Wales’ photo she posted on Mother’s Day was largely edited, and news agencies decided to remove it from their websites. Meanwhile, the mystery surrounding Kate is getting more puzzling by the minute, as Kensington Palace appears not to want to release any information—or pictures—of the future queen.
The edited Mother’s Day picture posted last Sunday had several significant errors. One of them showed Kate Middleton not wearing her wedding ring, which has baffled many royal fans and experts. Even though the picture has been edited, which could mean the ring has been deleted, the conspiracy theories continue growing.
While conspiracy theories are mostly shared and discussed online, they have reached Prince William and Kate Middleton’s friends. Although nothing has been confirmed, denied, or even commented on by the palace regarding the future king and queen’s relationship, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ friends are reportedly shocked by the latest development.
Kate Middleton’s picture for Mother’s Day turned out to have been manipulated. This caused a lot of anger among royal fans and experts, and just a day after it was published, the princess apologized.
“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,” Kate said in a post on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media platforms.
Kate Middleton – manipulated Mother’s Day picture
It took a few hours before photography experts and social media users began analyzing the picture, finding several errors and examples of bad editing.
Several news agencies, including the Associated Press and Getty, sent a “kill notice” (an advisory notice to remove or not use a specific photo).
Another news agency that used a “kill notice” was the well-renowned Agence France-Presse (AFP). Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Media Show, Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director, said that Kensington Palace is no longer a trusted source.
“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 — even from what we would call trusted sources,” he said, as reported by Deadline.
Chetwynd continued by revealing that several news agencies asked Kensington Palace Sunday if they could provide the original picture. However, according to him, the agencies did not receive a reply, and the image was pulled.
Moreover, Chetwynd said kill notices are usually reserved for sources such as North Korea.
“To kill something on the basis of manipulation [is rare. We do it] once a year maybe, I hope less. The previous kills we’ve had have been from the North Korean news agency or the Iranian news agency,” Chetwynd added.
It’s been over a week since Kate published the photo on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram account. Since – besides news agencies releasing a “kill notice,” – Instagram has decided to add an ‘altered photo’ notice to Kate Middleton’s edited Mother’s Day photo.
Under the Instagram post, a warning reads: “Altered photo/video. The same altered photo was reviewed by independent fact-checkers in another post.”
Prince William’s alleged ‘affair’ with Rose Hanbury
As the manipulated picture was not only pulled from news agencies’ websites but also because news agency AFP considered Kensington Palace no longer a trusted source, fans on social media continue to speculate about Kate Middleton and her status.
The manipulated picture Kate posted on Mother’s Day contained several editing mistakes. However, the fact that she didn’t wear her wedding ring left many worried about Prince William and Kate Middleton’s marriage, which could change the royal family’s future forever.
Not least because of the rumors that started five years ago.
To begin with, it’s important to underline that nothing has been confirmed. In April 2019, the American publication In Touch Magazine reported that William “may” have had an affair with a woman named Rose Hanbury, who happens to be the Marchioness of Cholmondeley and a friend of Kate’s.
Tabloids reported about the “falling out” involving William, Kate, and Rose. In Touch wrote that Kate had confronted William with the reports but that William had “laughed it off,” saying that the rumors weren’t true.
At the time, the Daily Mail royal expert Richard Kay spoke out against the rumors, saying they were all fake news.
“Both sides have considered legal action, but because none of the reports have been able to offer any evidence about what the so-called dispute is about, they have chosen to ignore it… These hurtful rumors of a fallout are simply false,” Kay wrote.
The gossip spread like wildfire, and the same year, in 2019, the Daily Mail reported that Kate would “phase out” Rose Hanbury from their friend’s group. It didn’t exactly help that Rose lived nearby to William and Kate, had the same social circle, and even had houses in Norfolk close to each other.
Who is Rose Hanbury?
William and Kate’s summer house in Anmer Hall isn’t far from Rose and her husband’s home, Houghton Hall, which reportedly has 106 rooms.
According to Tatler, Rose’s connections to the royal family go back a long way. Hanbury’s maternal grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Lambert, was one of Queen Elizabeth’s eight bridesmaids at her 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
While it took a few years before Rose Hanbury became a close friend of a royal, she and Kate go way back. Tatler reported that William, Kate, Rose, and Rose’s husband David, the Marquess of Cholmondeley, double-dated. Moreover, she and Kate are patrons of the East Anglia Children’s Hospice.
Rose Hanbury attended the prestigious Stowe boarding school before pursuing an Open University Degree. For a short time, she worked as a model. At 23, she was signed to modeling agency Storm, the same agency that discovered Kate Moss.
However, she soon changed her profession, working as a political researcher for the Conservative MP Michael Gove.
As mentioned, Rose and Kate double-dated with their former boyfriends – who have now become their husbands. Rose and David met during a holiday in 2003, and six years later, the couple tied the knot at Chelsea Town Hall.
The couple have welcomed three children. Twin brothers Alexander, the Earl of Rocksavage, and Lord Oliver Cholmondeley were born in 2009, and their daughter, Lady Iris, in 2016.
“Hurtful rumours”
It’s been reported that the two young boys are playmates of Prince George – and Lord Oliver was actually one of King Charles’ Pages of Honor at the coronation in May last year.
The 2019 rumors about an affair between William and Rose shocked royal fans. At the time, according to a Daily Mail source, William, David, Kate, and Rose were left baffled by the claims.
“These hurtful rumours of a fallout are simply false. William and David were in touch with each other over the weekend, not knowing whether to laugh or complain,” the insider said.
“Both wives are hurt by the suggestion that there is any argument or even a coolness between them. They have plans for future events involving their charity.”
As reported by The Mirror, another friend said at the time: “It has now become very upsetting, and they are all concerned for each other, as they have never before had to start denying something for which there is no evidence or even a smidgen of truth. It is just mad.”
There has been no confirmation of the rumors even being one percent true. Most likely, as there’s no evidence, it never happened. Another reason why it seems like there is no bad blood between Kate and Rose Hanbury was disclosed some months ago when it became known that the longtime friends had been to a music festival together.
Once again, we want to state that nothing has been confirmed, and the rumors about Prince William and Rose Hanbury are simply rumors.
However, as social media posts reach millions and millions of people every day, one post can become a truth if enough people believe it. That is what has happened in later months as the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton and her medical status have continued to grow.
Prince William & Kate Middleton’s friends “baffled” over missing wedding ring
The biggest story ended up being Kate Middleton not wearing her wedding ring in the Mother’s Day picture, which was picked up by one of the biggest talk shows in the US.
Last week, on his Late Night show, talk show host Stephen Colbert brought up William and Kate, mentioning the potential “affair” with Rose Hanbury and the fact that the princess didn’t have her wedding ring on in the picture.
The palace has denied an affair ever took place several times, but as one of the biggest talk shows in the US spoke about it, many reacted strongly. Not only royal fans but reportedly Prince William and Kate Middleton’s friends.
As reported by The Daily Beast, a former royal staffer said that Stephen Colbert’s comments would be “deeply annoying” as the Prince and Princess of Wales’ office at Kensington Palace desperately tries to turn the ship around following the tumultuous week that’s passed.
“It’s deeply annoying and unhelpful for the palace, but it’s not surprising that the affair rumors are being reheated. What else are people supposed to think when she sends out a photo not wearing her wedding ring?” the royal staffer, who, according to the Daily Beast, worked with William and Kate when employed at the palace, said.
Moreover, a friend of Kate and William told the Daily Beast that many in their friends’ group were “completely baffled” that Kate posted the picture without wearing the wedding ring.
“The relationship has always seemed incredibly strong”
Mainly because it is “guaranteed to get people asking questions about the state of the marriage.”
“They are often seen together at school events, and really it is remarkable how one and often both of them will always be at every match, every music concert and every prize giving,” the friend said.
“The relationship has always seemed incredibly strong despite the immense pressure they are under, so it’s fair to say we were all completely baffled when the picture came out with the wedding ring missing, especially as it was photoshopped. It just seemed guaranteed to get people asking questions about the state of the marriage.”
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