# The reign of King Charles III of the United Kingdom **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232 "2022-09-08T18:05:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 75
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1484 "2024-03-08T00:53:11Z")
I was watching a let’s play of a Peppa Pig game recently where the family travels to London and meets QE2, which was developed before her death but released afterward. She drives a double decker bus over an open drawbridge and then splashes around with them in puddles in front of Buckingham Palace before the game fades to a black screen with an In Memoriam. It’s quite the mood shift. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2024, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1485 "2024-03-08T02:48:19Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Their archenemies are the Village Green Preservation Society. How I wish we could “like” posts here. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1486 "2024-03-11T01:54:44Z")
An oddity; the Palace issued a photo of Princess Kate with her kids, which AP syndicated, then withdrew after determining that the Palace had “manipulated” the photo. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/10/uk/news-agencies-recall-image-of-catherine-princess-of-wales/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/10/uk/news-agencies-recall-image-of-catherine-princess-of-wales/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1487 "2024-03-11T07:16:54Z")
Doesn’t sound like anything misleading (assuming there’s nothing wrong with the software that identified issues). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1488 "2024-03-11T08:56:43Z")
It’s a really bonkers story, and no end of sustenance for the conspiracy theorists, but I think it’s just a really dodgy photoshop job where they’ve comped different shots together to make sure everyone’s smiling, so now everyone thinks Kate is dead. There’s a graphic designer somewhere in the Kensington Palace press office who’s in for a terrible Monday morning. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1489 "2024-03-11T09:34:48Z")
Yeah, that seems pretty ridiculous - if anyone was going to fake that photo, they’d pose the shot with a person of similar height and build, then swap the face/head. What possible use would there be in futzing around with a sleeve? (Oh, I know the CT answer: the obvious photoshop error is there to distract our attention away from the undetectable invisible photoshopping of the face, which we know must be present, because it cannot be detected) ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1490 "2024-03-11T09:53:37Z")
I think it’s basically a conflict between two different understnadings of what Royal Family photos are for: The first is business as usual: the photos are to project a near-idealised image of the RF as joyful, serene and damn near perfect. In which case manipulation of the image to project this ideal is entirely in keeping with the strategic purpose. The second is specific to this image: the photo was taken to dismantle ludicrous conspiracy theories by providing an authentic image of Princess Kate as she really is today. In which case manipulation of the image is absolutely fatal to the strategic purpose. But force of habit is a terrible thing. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1491 "2024-03-11T11:31:22Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > There’s a graphic designer somewhere in the Kensington Palace press office who’s in for a terrible Monday morning. Counter to expectations, the princess is outing … herself(?) … as that graphic designer. Most strange? Or plausible? > **[Kate Middleton apologizes over doctored family photo, admits she ‘experiments...](https://nypost.com/2024/03/11/entertainment/kate-middleton-issues-apology-for-edited-photo/amp/)** > > Several photo agencies have recalled the image over manipulation concerns. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1492 "2024-03-11T11:56:20Z")
Ha! That’s a pretty smart way to crush the story without some poor office intern taking the slack/the PR team looking like idiots. Also helps to show us Kate isn’t actually dead/hasn’t fled to Barbados. ---
**Author:** ![Stanislaus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stanislaus/32/3391_2.png) [@Stanislaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stanislaus)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1493 "2024-03-11T12:12:25Z")
It’s smart if it’s true. And hey, if she says that she regularly fires up the old Macbook and noodles around on photoshop rather than relying on the professional skills of her dedicated PR team, whomst amongst us would be so unpatriotic as to disbelieve her. On the other hand, if this were a less than accurate account of how this photo got distributed to news agencies under the guise of being a genuinely authentic image, the fact that she’s taking a bullet for her own PR team and also telling a wee fib would be distinctly ungreat. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1494 "2024-03-11T12:19:28Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Also helps to show us Kate isn’t actually dead/hasn’t fled to Barbados. Now I want her next photo-op to be Tea with Sir Paul McCartney 😄 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1495 "2024-03-11T12:31:32Z")
> [@SanVito](#): > > Also helps to show us Kate isn’t actually dead/hasn’t fled to Barbados. Or not. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1496 "2024-03-11T12:32:20Z")
> [@Stanislaus](#): > > On the other hand, if this were a less than accurate account of how this photo got distributed to news agencies under the guise of being a genuinely authentic image, the fact that she’s taking a bullet for her own PR team and also telling a wee fib would be distinctly ungreat. It is a terribly amateur bit of photoshop though, so I don’t find it that hard to believe! ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1497 "2024-03-11T12:37:08Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Now I want her next photo-op to be Tea with Sir Paul McCartney 😄 A picture of her having tea with George Harrison would put all the conspiracy theories to rest for sure. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1498 "2024-03-11T12:41:23Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > A complicating factor is that the continental monarchies have much smaller national populations Spain isn’t _that_ far off the UK in size, and The Nethelands and Belgium are still within an order of magnitude of the UK (and more densely populated). I wouldn’t say iInternational connections were such a major factor, the British parasites don’t travel _that_ much (And nowadays aren’t all _that_ welcome everywhere, when they do) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1499 "2024-03-11T12:44:19Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > There’s a Prince Carl of Sweden? More like Carl Jr, 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2024, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1500 "2024-03-11T13:27:29Z")
I recently saw an ad for (IIRC) the new Google phone which has a function where if you take multiple similar photos you can edit in everyone’s best facial expressions or whatever from the range of photos into one. Instant reinvention of reality. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1501 "2024-03-12T17:28:33Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > > [@JRDelirious](#): > > > > Now I want her next photo-op to be Tea with Sir Paul McCartney 😄 > > A picture of her having tea with George Harrison would put all the conspiracy theories to rest for sure. Or walking across Abbey Road with Winston Churchill, Marilyn Monroe and Cary Grant. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1502 "2024-03-20T16:52:01Z")
And now this: [https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/europe/kate-royals-altered-photo-queen-gbr-intl/index.html?iid=cnn\_buildContentRecirc\_end\_recirc](https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/19/europe/kate-royals-altered-photo-queen-gbr-intl/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1503 "2024-03-20T22:58:07Z")
When I first saw this story I thought it was going to be some attempted hack on the system to get information. Instead it appears that someone at the clinic was curious and tried to see something they shouldn’t have access to. > **[Kate Middleton's Medical Records Involved in Security Breach After Hospital...](https://people.com/kate-middleton-medical-records-london-clinic-security-breach-8611456)** > > Kate Middleton's medical records were attempted to be breached by hospital staff at the London Clinic, according to 'The Mirror.' This comes one day after a video of the Princess of Wales and Prince William were seen out for the first time on video... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232.md?page=76)