Kate Middleton’s Photo Controversy Is ‘Pretty Damning,’ Says U.K. PR Expert
The People
Over the weekend, photo agencies pulled the Mother’s Day image of the Princess of Wales, 42, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, and her children, citing concerns about manipulation. Princess Kate apologized in a personal statement released on Monday, saying, “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.”
Mark Borkowski, a London-based public relations and crisis communications expert, tells PEOPLE that in trying to share a new image with the public, the palace hasn’t calmed concerns — “in fact, it’s made it worse.”
“Now some people are asking if it is all generated by AI or is it a Photoshop of a photo taken. It’s not something you’d want the royal brand to be aligned with,” he says.
A palace insider downplayed the PR crisis, telling PEOPLE exclusively that although the situation is a “bump in the road, it’s not an earthquake.”
“[Kate] has apologized and graciously so,” the insider says. “She has done something that 99% of us do — and we don’t have the scrutiny that they do.”