# What do the dopers think of the Kate Middleton brouhaha **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 11, 2024, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723 "2024-03-11T23:52:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/41 "2024-03-12T11:36:06Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > No Kate Middleton thread on the dope yet? Who?? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/42 "2024-03-12T11:50:02Z")
Photoshop errors have been a thing for 25 years. They’ve been found in major magazines and social media. BoredPanda has articles with lists of silly photoshop fails. I don’t see why Kate Middleton’s error is note worthy. Certainly not to this extent. Its so ridiculous that most of these articles don’t acknowledge how many people use Photoshop and make errors. She doesn’t need this stress so soon after major surgery. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/43 "2024-03-12T12:01:16Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > No Kate Middleton thread on the dope yet? It is being discussed [here.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-reign-of-king-charles-iii-of-the-united-kingdom/971232/1486) > [@MandaJo](#): > > Can you imagine getting really sick and seeing “Kate the Cow’ or 'Kate the Crone” headlines? I bet she can. You wouldn’t get that. You’d get “Sick Kate still looks better than Megan” headlines. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/44 "2024-03-12T12:19:02Z")
OMG, they photoshopped their pictures [again?](https://people.com/kate-middleton-prince-william-christmas-card-photoshopped-royal-fans-spot-edits-8414854) Truly a tempest in a teapot. > [@pulykamell](#): > > the news agency still has the duty to its clients to provide editorial photos, not 'shopped publicity stills. I’d rather news agencies put a little more effort into this duty when it comes to endlessly repeating lies spewed by hateful right wing politicians than worrying about family snapshots made public by famous people. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/45 "2024-03-12T12:20:19Z")
Another Doper firmly in the “nunya” camp. Magpie that I am, I’m fascinated by the spectacle of the monarchy, but only so far. William and Kate have always presented themselves, and seem like, decent human beings - I’ve said before that flying search-and-rescue missions for the RAF means that William is an asset to his nation, even if he were simply Bill Sykes from Croydon. Whatever health issues she’s going through, I wish her and her family the best. And that’s where my interest ends. ---
**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 12, 2024, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/46 "2024-03-12T12:45:33Z")
Yeah, it might even be that there was a photo shoot and for whatever reason, none of the photos were particularly great, and someone said ‘hey, don’t worry, I can fix it’. It doesn’t even have to be that she looked haggard or anything - all it would take is for the photos to be substandard for some reason; such as the kids’ faces are fully lit, Kate’s face is in shade, and the easiest fix was to use a library picture. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/47 "2024-03-12T13:38:25Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’d rather news agencies put a little more effort into this duty when it comes to endlessly repeating lies spewed by hateful right wing politicians than worrying about family snapshots made public by famous people. I think the AP and AFP are pretty good about reporting the straight news, so I have no problem with that. The only place I’ve heard talk about any of this hubbub is here, to be honest. Maybe it’s a big story and I need to get out more, but all I know about it is what I’ve seen in the couple of threads I’ve seen it mentioned in. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/48 "2024-03-12T13:48:04Z")
I don’t think anything about her. This thread is the only time I’ve seen her name recently. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/49 "2024-03-12T14:01:57Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > So I have been largely ignoring the brouhaha (I’m a brit living in the states for 20+ and am kind of irritated when I’m forced to read about the british royals here. Same here. To me there is nothing more inane and worthless as news about the British royals. Well, maybe that and celebrity news. It’s like “The Real Royals of Kensington Palace.” But on the upside it takes up some shelf space from our political news between pharmaceutical ads for toenail fungus and avoiding life-theatening infections of the perineum, so there’s that. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/50 "2024-03-12T14:11:03Z")
When you combine ludicrous obsession with the royals with pandemic era conspiracy-mongering, this is what you get. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/51 "2024-03-12T14:28:46Z")
It wasn’t even an issue about her supposed body shape. It’s that the slapshot photo editing put in extra things that weren’t supposed to be there. There’s an extra pair of hands cuddling two of her children on the outside, where her own hands are in front of her. It was made to look like the child behind her was the source of those extra hands, but he’d have to have 6 ft long arms to achieve that. There’s also spots where there’s a diagonal platform in the background, but the edge isn’t straight. Sections of it extend further than the rest. There’s also points where some sort of sharpen filter was used for underarms that wound up artefacting the background. It looked like something a beginner at Photoshop would produce, thinking they had to use every edit feature possible. Phone image editing uses AI to turn faces slightly more towards the camera, but it seldom takes into account the lighting settings. The original face has light bouncing off certain areas, and when they’re redirected while the rest of the photo is static, it looks weird and muddied. Seems like the Royals would have access to professional studios to dress up their images, but this looks DIY, which isn’t always a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/52 "2024-03-12T14:39:33Z")
Most likely answer to me: She’s at home but not looking or feeling her best. Maybe she’s lost weight in recovery, or she wasn’t feeling well enough to get the full makeup-and-wardrobe thing, so she photoshopped in a picture of herself that she likes. No big whoop unless it’s hiding a serious medical issue. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/53 "2024-03-12T14:42:38Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Yeah, it might even be that there was a photo shoot and for whatever reason, none of the photos were particularly great, and someone said ‘hey, don’t worry, I can fix it’. It doesn’t even have to be that she looked haggard or anything - all it would take is for the photos to be substandard for some reason; such as the kids’ faces are fully lit, Kate’s face is in shade, and the easiest fix was to use a library picture. I don’t buy that at all. This photo was published as basically “a proof of life”. Why she decided to stay out of the public eye after the op is nobody’s business, and I personally couldn’t care less. But to choose to publish an obviously completely fake photo as way to say “hey nothing to see here, look here’s a photo of the princess looking hale and healthy”, that’s kinda batshiat. Like it wasn’t just touched up, it was released as the first photo of the Princess since last year, when in fact it was nothing of the sort it was an obvious collage of a photo from years earlier. Even then I probably wouldn’t have really cared if they’d have given an excuse like this (basically the “blame it on the intern” approach), I wouldn’t have brought it but it wouldn’t seem completely extraordinary either. But they then decided to publish an clearly unbelievable excuse that the Princess was dabbling with Photoshop and threw it together herself. That’s just crazy. Even if it is all just spectacularly bad PR, it is once in a lifetime catastrophically bad PR that people will be talking about for decades, from the most famous richest people in the world whose _only job_ is PR. Like shooting yourself in the foot doesn’t cover how bad this is, we need a new metaphor to describe it. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/54 "2024-03-12T15:03:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I don’t see why Kate Middleton’s error is note worthy. Certainly not to this extent. Because A: its not an “error” (it was released by the palace as “the first photo of the princess since December of last year” that was in fact a crude collage of a photo of her from years earlier. That’s not an error, nobody released this by mistake thinking it was real.) and B: its absolutely not _her_ error, the suggestion that the Princess of Wales is dabbling in photoshop while recovering from surgery, is frankly bonkers. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/55 "2024-03-12T15:19:03Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I recall a photo of a marathon runner who had collapsed just before the finish line and was in anguish. She had an EMT next to her who had a walkie-talkie in her hand. As it happened the angle the photo was taken at made it look like the antenna was jutting out of the woman’s chin. So, they erased the antenna. Seemed innocent enough but it became a big deal. Where is the line drawn? The consensus seemed to be just don’t edit the photo for publication (if it is news…if it is advertising then do whatever). That photo was in this book, which is a worthy coffee table book (if it’s still being published): > **[Moments in Time, 60 Years of Associated Press News Photos: Adelma G. Simmons:...](https://www.amazon.com/Moments-Years-Associated-Press-Photos/dp/0944297129)** > > Moments in Time, 60 Years of Associated Press News Photos \[Adelma G. Simmons\] on Amazon.com. \*FREE\* shipping on qualifying offers. Moments in Time, 60 Years of Associated Press News Photos The editing of the photo was mentioned. It’s been a while since I saw the book, but I don’t remember them mentioning much controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/56 "2024-03-12T15:25:51Z")
42 years ago (in 1982), National Geographic magazine ran an altered cover photo of the Egyptian pyramids, causing a huge controversy. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/57 "2024-03-12T15:30:24Z")
> [@griffin1977](#): > > Like it wasn’t just touched up, it was released as the first photo of the Princess since last year, when in fact it was nothing of the sort it was an obvious collage of a photo from years earlier. > [@griffin1977](#): > > Because A: its not an “error” (it was released by the palace as “the first photo of the princess since December of last year” that was in fact a crude collage of a photo of her from years earlier. Do you have a source for this? I’ve seen quite a lot of coverage of this whole situation, and I’ve never seen this idea that there is no recent photograph at all. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/58 "2024-03-12T15:31:18Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > Maybe the rules are different today but in the past editing a photo for publication was strictly forbidden They absolutely are not (hence the whole “kill notice” thing). And the actual people responsible for publicity for the palace, who are some of the the most senior PR professionals on the planet who deal the with the press agencies as the main part of the job, absolutely know that. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/59 "2024-03-12T15:42:16Z")
> [@MandaJo](#): > > I think its quite possible that she looks like shit right now, and can’t have an ugly picture released, opening herself up to truly malicious mockery. Illness can ravage your features: it can make a person look haggard or bloated. Can you imagine getting really sick and seeing “Kate the Cow’ or 'Kate the Crone” headlines? I bet she can. That seems likely. But she didn’t need to release any photo, so this feels like an unforced error to me. And if she wants to do a non-photo “proof of life”, she could do a short audio interview with a friendly member of the press where something recent is mentioned. Or something. I’m sure there are ways other than photoshopping old images to suggest she is still alive and well-enough. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2024, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723/60 "2024-03-12T15:43:03Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Do you have a source for this? I’ve seen quite a lot of coverage of this whole situation, and I’ve never seen this idea that there is no recent photograph at all. The link in the OP is pretty compelling, here is non-Twitter version: > **[The Kate Middleton Vogue cover theory explained](https://www.indy100.com/news/kate-middleton-photo-photoshop-vogue)** > > It’s been dubbed “Photogate” and a “Katespiracy”, and now the social media frenzy over the Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day photograph has turned to whether Kate’s face in the ‘edited’ photo may have come from a Vogue cover photo from 2016.To recap, a... I mean it could be a fake (by using an edited version of either the vogue photo or the palace’s photo, so they match) but the fact multiple people have tried it (and no one has pointed out “hey these people used a fake photo”) is a smoking gun as far as I’m concerned. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-the-dopers-think-of-the-kate-middleton-brouhaha/998723.md?page=4)