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The royal “arty one’s” controversy with digitally altered photographs doesn’t seem to end.

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, sparked a controversy with her digitally altered family portrait posted on Mother’s Day. However, as it turns out, it wasn’t the first Photoshopped photograph of the royal family to have been digitally altered.

Now, another photo of the British Royals described as ‘digitally enhanced’ has further escalated the controversy. This photo is of Queen Elizabeth II with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

This comes even as there are rumours over the missing Kate and her husband, Prince of Wales, William, engaging in an alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, the Marchioness of Cholmondeley.

The photograph, capturing Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her 10 grandchildren and great-grandchildren, was taken by the Princess of Wales and was revealed to be “digitally enhanced at source” by a global picture agency, reported the Telegraph.

The photo, clicked at Balmoral in August 2022, came under scrutiny after the Princess confessed to editing a Mother’s Day picture of herself and her three children.

Getty Images reviewed the photo released by Buckingham Palace on April 21 last year to commemorate what would become the late Queen’s 97th birthday.

Getty’s spokesman commented, “Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source,” reported the Telegraph.

In the photograph, standing at the back are Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh.

In front of them are Lena Tindall, the daughter of Mike and Zara Tindall, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte, the older children of the Prince and Princess of Wales, Isla Phillips, the daughter of Peter Phillips, and Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Mia Tindall is seated next to Queen Elizabeth II on the right with baby Lucas Tindall, while Savannah Phillips is seated to her left.

The Telegraph highlighted “a number of irregularities,” including a digital replication of Mia Tindall’s hair and a vertical line where the tartan of the late Queen’s garment does not match.

“A dark shadow is visible behind Prince Louis’s ear, and a similar small black patch can be seen behind Prince George’s shirt collar,” the report added.

These manipulated images emerge amid growing concerns over false or misleading visual information, especially with the rapid advancements in generative artificial intelligence.

KATE MIDDLETON’S CONTROVERSIES

Over the past two weeks, social media has been abuzz with the question: Where is Kate? Speculations about the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, amid rumours of Prince William’s alleged affair with Rose Hanbury, Marchioness of Cholmondeley, and her absence from public appearances since abdominal surgery, led to the trending hashtag ‘WhereIsKate’.

Amid the rumours, British media reported Kate’s appearance at her favourite farm shop in Windsor, signalling her gradual return to official engagements after her surgery. This marked Middleton’s first public outing in a while, as she appeared “happy, relaxed, and healthy,” according to The Sun, quoting onlookers.

Now, the question arises is whether every photo posted by the palace should be reviewed.