'Palace’s long history of lying': Omid Scobie reacts to Kate Middleton editing photo scandal 

Royal family expert Omid Scobie addressed Kate Middleton's alleged photo controversy on his X account on March 11, 2024. Scobie's comments come after the official Instagram account of the Prince and Princess of Wales posted a picture of Kate Middleton with her three children, George, Louis, and Charlotte, on Mother's Day (March 10 in the UK).

This marked the first official photograph of Kate shared by Kensington Palace after the Princess' reported abdominal surgery in January this year. However, netizens quickly pointed out apparent Photoshop blunders in the picture, alleging the picture was taken much earlier than assumed.

Amid the controversy, Omid Scobie took to X to talk about the photograph. Scobie said "most photos" released by "public figures" are "retouched in some way." However, it is becoming "increasingly difficult" for the public to trust the royal family.

In his post, Scobie also mentioned Prince Harry, allegedly referring to the palace issuing statements without Harry's knowledge.

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Omid Scobie's statement about Kate Middleton's photo controversy mentions Prince Harry

In his March 11 post on X, Omid Scobie mentioned Prince Harry while discussing Kate Middleton's alleged Photoshop scandal. Scobie said that the palace had previously issued statements on behalf of Prince Harry without his permission.

"But with the Palace’s long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry), it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share."

As per GB News, Scobie allegedly referred to Harry's statements in the Netflix series, Harry & Meghan. In the series, Prince Harry said the palace issued statements on his behalf without his knowledge.

Harry said that he met with his father, brother, and the former Queen to discuss terms about his withdrawal from royal duties. He was "told about a joint statement that had been put out in my name and my brother's name, squashing the story about him bullying us out of the family."

However, the statement was reportedly published without the Duke of Sussex's knowledge. It spoke about Prince Harry's relationship with his brother, Prince William. Harry said in the Netflix series:

"No one had asked me permission to put my name to a statement like that. The saddest part of it was this wedge created between myself and my brother, so that he's now on the institution's side."

Scobie was allegedly referring to the same incident. GB News reports that the context was the public's growing inability to trust the royal family, as Kate Middleton's alleged Photoshop scandal is not an "isolated incident."

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Kate Middleton issued an official statement after facing photoshop allegations

On March 11, the official Kensington Royal X account issued a statement, reportedly clarifying the Photoshop scandal. It is understood that the statement was issued by Kate Middleton.

The statement from the Princess of Wales mentioned that she occasionally "experiments with editing" as an "amateur photographer." She apologized for "any confusion" the family photograph may have created.

The statement came after several photo agencies, including Associated Press, Getty, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, removed the photograph on accusations of it being "digitally altered."

The public pointed out alleged signs of digital alteration in the March 10 family photograph. The Associated Press also issued a statement confirming the digital alteration. The statement said:

"The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards.

Kate Middleton is yet to resume her royal duties after her abdominal surgery in January. As per Kensington Palace's last official statement dated February 29, she is unlikely to return to official duties before Easter.