Prince William and Kate Middleton are still planning on releasing a photo in celebration of Prince Louis’ sixth birthday next month.
However, the Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly now debating who the photographer should be amid their recent photo editing scandal.
“They appreciate the public’s love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays,” a source told The Sunday Times over the weekend.
Prince Louis celebrates his birthday on April 23, which falls on a Tuesday this year. The palace normally releases a new portrait of the young prince a few days before the big day.
In years past, Middleton – a self-proclaimed “amateur photographer” – has snapped casual photos of her and Prince William’s kids in honor of their birthdays. This year will reportedly be different, however, following the furor surrounding her “manipulated” UK Mother’s Day photo.
Sources close to the couple say that no “firm decision” has been made yet on whether Middleton will take the pic or leave it to a professional photographer.
The source added that the royal duo are hopeful that Louis’ birthday photo will be met with less frenzy than the now-infamous Mother’s Day snapshot.
The image, which was released earlier this month, featured the Princess of Wales sitting in a chair surrounded by her three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
It immediately fell victim to harsh criticism as eagle-eyed netizens picked up on clumsy edits, including young Charlotte’s sleeve disappearing in a blur.
The release of the pic came after weeks of speculation regarding Middleton’s whereabouts and health issues after she underwent abdominal surgery in January.
Photo agencies such as the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images made the rare decision to issue a “kill notice” to media outlets to remove the image immediately.
“At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” a message from the AP read.
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As a result, Middleton offered up a quick apology the following day.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she tweeted via X from the official Prince and Princess of Wales account. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
Samir Hussein/WireImage
A friend and advisor of the couple shared with The Sunday Times that Middleton was “devastated” by the uproar at the time.
“If you want to call out the mistake, it was Kate not telling her team that she’d done it [edited the photo],” the friend explained. “But she came out and said sorry. The photo was a misstep, even with something as innocent as that you should disclose altering it.”
Middleton is expected to return to royal duties sometime in April.
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