The wild online speculation which then flowed ranged across the spectrum — from the suggestion the photo had been taken on a Google Pixel 8 phone, which automatically selects and merges the most flattering pictures, to claims that Kate’s head had been supplanted onto someone else’s body to hide her supposedly mysterious absence.
Experts said it was unclear exactly what had happened. Middleton’s statement Monday said only that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” and apologized for the “confusion.”
“It’s all but impossible to say what tools have been used — it could be photoshop style tools, which incorporate elements of AI and generative AI, or something else. Currently the technology doesn’t allow you to trace what tools have been used,” says Hannah Perry, lead digital researcher at the London-based think tank Demos.
Trusted sources
The royal family’s latest PR disaster stems from a growing trend within the U.K. establishment — both among the royal family, but also senior politicians — to maintain tight control over their public images, either by taking their own photos or by employing private photographers to release only carefully-sanctioned images to the public.
In the past, the U.K. royals would frequently bring in a trusted photographer from a big news agency like the Press Association, or a member of the pool of accredited news photographers, to take an official image marking key occasions like birthdays or anniversaries.
But the Princess of Wales, herself a self-styled amateur photographer, has often preferred to release her own pictures of her family.
