Is pressure on Kate after photo chaos unfair?

Princess of Wales has apologised for any confusion caused by the image. News agencies withdrew the picture over concerns it had been digitally altered. Royal sources described her changes as “minor adjustments”" The princess posted a brief apology on social media for what had happened. Trust is central to the relationship with the royals.

When they manipulate an image, will the public feel manipulated too? And we still don’t know what was changed, with no sight of the original picture. We don’t know, for instance, if this was a composite image from a series of pictures. We want the royals to be like us, but at the same time we want them to be completely different and special.

Is Catherine caught somewhere in that contradiction? The Princess of Wales must have been on more front pages in recent years than anyone else in the country. Is it a grown-up thing to expect her to appear in public and look flawless? Catherine has been the focus of relentless speculation about how she looks.

She ends up in the firing line for playing with the image being released. It will add even more pressure to when the Princess of Wales does appear in public. But maybe there’s a bigger question about re-setting the royal relationship. How much information should they share?

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