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Did she or didn’t she? Kate Middleton is accused of using her Vogue cover for that controversial edited photo and there’s a lot of evidence to back up the internet’s claims.
The Princess of Wales came under fire on Sunday, March 10—Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom—when she posted an Instagram photo of her and her three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—that fans immediately accused her of editing. The post was the first picture of Kate ever since her mysterious abdominal surgery in January 2024. “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C,” Kate captioned the photo, which was allegedly taken by William at their home in 2024.
After fans accused Kate of editing the photo, which included suspicious details such as Prince Louis’ missing finger, Kate admitted in a tweet that the photo was edited. “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,” Kate wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter) on March 11.
But what was edited exactly? Well, some fans believe that Kate used a 2016 cover of her on British Vogue for her Mother’s Day photo and the evidence is damning. Read on for an explanation of the Kate Middleton Vogue cover theory taking the internet by storm.
Kate Middleton Vogue cover photo editing theory explained
Following her photo editing drama, fans accused Kate Middleton of using her 2016 cover for British Vogue for her Mother’s Day photo. “my analysis of the kate middleton photo saga is that they took her face from the vogue cover she did years ago and edited it in,” tweeted Daily Mirror and Daily star editor Daily Naldrett. The tweet, which has been viewed more than 44 million times, included a video of Kate’s Mother’s Day photo overlaid on her Vogue cover in an attempt to show the likeness between the two pictures and prove that Kate’s Mother’s Day photo was digitally altered and not recent.
my analysis of the kate middleton photo saga is that they took her face from the vogue cover she did years ago and edited it in pic.twitter.com/JLXts08zp5— Ruby Naldrett (@rubynaldrett) March 11, 2024
Luke Bailey, an editor at The I, debunked the theory, however, by explaining that that Vogue’s cover showe Kate in a hat with her hair swept off of her face, while hter Mother’s Day photoshowed her with no hat and her hair covering a part of her face. “clip going around that uses a fade to ‘prove’ the Kate Middleton photo is actually her Vogue cover. and there’s actually a reason you don’t use a fade to do that, because it makes images appear more similar than they are. if you take individual details – they’re a long way apart,” he tweeted.
clip going around that uses a fade to ‘prove’ the Kate Middleton photo is actually her Vogue cover. and there’s actually a reason you don’t use a fade to do that, because it makes images appear more similar than they are. if you take individual details – they’re a long way apart pic.twitter.com/GwNTS19W1X— Luke Bailey (@imbadatlife) March 11, 2024
Bailey also noted differences in Kate’s smile and eyebrows, and how her Mother’s Day photo is in a softer focus. Other Twitter users, however, believe that William, who is said to have taken Kate’s Mother’s Day photo, may have used a mode that takes multiple photos and edits them together, which would’ve explained the suspicious details in Kate, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis’ appearances.
A source told People at the time that Kate and her family had a “wonderful” Mother’s Day despite the edited photo controversy. The family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day,” the source said, adding that William and Kate’s intention with the photo was “to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day.” The source also confirmed that William and Kate only made “minor adjustments” to the “amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales.”
A source close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle also reacted to Kate’s photo editing controversy to Page Six at the time. “This isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make,” the insider said, adding that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would “have been annihilated” if they were caught photoshopping images of themselves. The inside added, “If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue they would have been annihilated… The same rules do not apply to both couples. This isn’t a mistake that Meghan would ever make … she has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.”
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