Row after picture agency ‘misleadingly’ labels royal photo as digitally enhanced
A global picture agency prompted a row over a portrait of Prince Archie’s christening after questioning whether it had been digitally enhanced.
The image was taken by professional photographer Chris Allerton on July 6 2019 and was released by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
It features two-month-old Prince Archie being cradled by his mother, Meghan, alongside Prince Harry, the King and the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, and Princess Diana’s two sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes.
But in the wake of the furore over the manipulation of royal portraits, Getty Images launched a review of handout images of the Royal family.
In accordance with its editorial policy, the agency placed an editor’s note “on images where the source has suggested they could be digitally enhanced.”
The christening portrait was among those to be reviewed, and as such, was attached with such a warning.
The development prompted speculation that the image had been manipulated, an allegation immediately rejected by Mr Allerton.
“I have very little insight as to why an ‘editor’s note’ was added to the portrait I took at Windsor in July 2019,” he told The Telegraph.
“I can only confirm that when I raised the matter with Getty Images directly yesterday [Tuesday] evening, they subsequently removed the misleading note.”
‘Unnecessary speculation’
Getty Images told Mr Allerton that the photograph had been “flagged in a recent handout review as needing review” but that the agency had confirmed it had not been manipulated and the note had been removed.
Mr Allerton said: “It is unfortunate their review has resulted in so much unnecessary speculation over an image that was produced with the utmost integrity. I have no further comment to make on the matter.”
It comes after a furore surrounding a Mother’s Day portrait of the Princess of Wales and her three children that was withdrawn from use earlier this month because of the extent to which it had been manipulated.
Several international news agencies took the rare step of issuing a “kill” notice because they could not guarantee its authenticity.
The Princess admitted that, as an amateur photographer, she did “occasionally experiment with editing.”
A photograph of Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, which was taken by the Princess, was also deemed to have been “digitally enhanced at source”.
The image was taken at Balmoral in August 2022 and released by Buckingham Palace on April 21 2023 to mark what would have been the late Queen’s 97th birthday.
Close inspection of the image appears to show several inconsistencies, including a vertical line where the tartan of the late Queen’s skirt does not match.
A dark shadow is also visible behind Prince Louis’s ear and a similar small black patch can be seen behind Prince George’s shirt collar.
Getty Images is the only agency that still holds the portrait in its library.
An agency spokesman said earlier this week it had “reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it stating the image has been digitally enhanced at source”.
Meanwhile, Reuters also identified eight places where the picture featuring the late Queen had been “clearly altered” by digital cloning.
The news agency could not immediately establish why the alterations were made.
Digital cloning involves copying pixels to either move or mask objects or areas in a photo.
A Reuters spokesman said: “Reuters is updating its procedures related to vetting images from Kensington Palace after confirming a second altered photograph.
“Consistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, Reuters requires that photos meet its editorial standards for image quality, accuracy and reliability.”
CNN, the American broadcaster, confirmed last week that it was also reviewing all photographs handed out by Kensington Palace.
Phil Chetwynd, global news director of Agence France-Presse, said last week the palace was no longer a “trusted source”.
