William and Catherine 4

[viii]

I’m also another one who thinks Louis is a Michael Middleton Jr. 

[Mama Mia]

13 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Photographers doing family photos with children do this all the time. And the Markles release photos of Meghan with the flawless skin of a ten year old child and Harry with a full head of thick hair. Are you crying about that? 

I don't think it has anything to do with an image. Just with having nice pictures. And, never mind that when the children act like normal kids in public, the internet melts down and diagnoses them with disabilities. Why should they invite more of that for the kids to read in a few year? 

I mean obviously  it’s much more extensively edited than a normal smoothing of hair or complexion or toning down the shadows or upping the clarity. Clearly. Many major news organizations pulled the photo because it was so extensively altered as to be misleading. That’s not a move they would do for the everyday cosmetic editing of photos people do, or they’d have nothing to publish.  I don’t know what’s going on with these people, but whatever it is they are doing an absolutely terrible job of managing perception of it. 

[WatchingTheTireFireBurn]

I can kinda sorta not really see the Kate's dad thing. I only see it when he's making certain expressions. Her dad's face is kinda sideways rectangle to me and that's all I can see! 

They let a paparazzi photo of her profile driving with william yesterday or the day before. You can't really see anything. So people are just saying that's adding fuel to the fire.

 reddit comment:

"Why is 'photographs with the same energy as the bigfoot tape' their media strategy right now?"

made me laugh out loud so hard. 

It also pretty much sums up how weird this is. For a person who is worldwide famous, their job is basically being seen & photographed, and yet "big foot energy"  is totally what they're putting out there.

I wonder if we'll ever know what all this was about.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

The best comment I’ve seen on this was “because there’s not a better missing white lady story at the moment…”

[anjulibai]

A couple of experts, including one from MIT, are coming out and saying that the picture was cobbled together from several different photos.

The palace is also refusing to release the unedited photo.

Oy.

[just_ordinary]

19 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

I think it's amazing she can still do bad photoshop despite being in coma and killed.

That’s a great thread title 

[viii]

2 hours ago, anjulibai said:

A couple of experts, including one from MIT, are coming out and saying that the picture was cobbled together from several different photos.

The palace is also refusing to release the unedited photo.

Oy.

It wouldn't be hard for them to release several of the original photos and just explain it's hard to get a good photo with all the kids. I feel like most people would understand that. But digging their heels in is just going to cause more suspicion and back lash. 

[Antimony]

I am almost never doing anything but lurk here but somehow, this has reached my non-FJ corners of the internet and the current going theory is that the photo is partially composted from a Vogue shoot Kate did. There is some relatively convincing evidence of this being shown in the photoshop corners of Twitter, but I'm not the expert. If Kate did use any of the Vogue files, though, that's 1. A Fascinating Choice 2. A Fascinating Copyright Rabbithole. There's a lot of people doing different analyses, but the one with perhaps the most evidence @PaulLomax. 

All that said, this tweet which is much funnier and easier to assess is doing numbers on Tumblr right now.

2 minutes ago, viii said:

It wouldn't be hard for them to release several of the original photos and just explain it's hard to get a good photo with all the kids. I feel like most people would understand that. But digging their heels in is just going to cause more suspicion and back lash. 

Streisandian bargain. 

[louisa05]

17 hours ago, noseybutt said:

I thought the Sussex tree phase was on social media? IMO, social media is not the same thing as releasing to press as a newsworthy story, though that line has become increasingly blurred (ahem, Time magazine).

 

Those photos were indeed released to the press. 

[FluffySnowball]

3 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

The best comment I’ve seen on this was “because there’s not a better missing white lady story at the moment…”

This is both super funny and somewhat heartbreaking... Like, I laughed and then I choked a little. 

32 minutes ago, viii said:

It wouldn't be hard for them to release several of the original photos and just explain it's hard to get a good photo with all the kids. I feel like most people would understand that. But digging their heels in is just going to cause more suspicion and back lash. 

Yeah, I guess (with no real knowledge about photography or public relations, just to put that disclaimer out there) publishing the original photos would actually show just how much was changed to look better. They might not want to do that. 

[louisa05]

Everyday when I dismiss in elementary, kids whip out their smartphones while lining up. As young as second grade. George is turning 11 this summer, Charlotte 9 in May. Even if their access is limited, they have classmates that are online and are likely telling them that their mother is dead or dying or being held hostage or  she was actually in the hospital because their father beat her up or that he killed his cousin’s husband and more. 
 

Never mind the freaking picture. This shit is not okay and it’s not fun or entertaining when it negatively impacts real humans. 

[noseybutt]

2 hours ago, Antimony said:

I am almost never doing anything but lurk here but somehow, this has reached my non-FJ corners of the internet and the current going theory is that the photo is partially composted from a Vogue shoot Kate did. There is some relatively convincing evidence of this being shown in the photoshop corners of Twitter, but I'm not the expert. If Kate did use any of the Vogue files, though, that's 1. A Fascinating Choice 2. A Fascinating Copyright Rabbithole. There's a lot of people doing different analyses, but the one with perhaps the most evidence @PaulLomax. 

I assumed the way the press issued the kill order that either there was a copyright or an AI issue. In journalism words, those two transgressions are causing a lot of angst. I don’t think editing something out of a photo or brushing over flaws would have raised eyebrows. But combining photos, and especially a copyrighted one, that will piss off the professionals.

1 hour ago, louisa05 said:

Everyday when I dismiss in elementary, kids whip out their smartphones while lining up. As young as second grade. George is turning 11 this summer, Charlotte 9 in May. Even if their access is limited, they have classmates that are online and are likely telling them that their mother is dead or dying or being held hostage or  she was actually in the hospital because their father beat her up or that he killed his cousin’s husband and more. 
 

 

And this is what happens to every member of the BRF at some point. Because it’s a seriously messed up system.

To me, the photo fiasco is more fascinating and entertaining than the dark undertones. I mean, the BRF has a horrific history of harms that they perpetually ignore in favor of the status quo that involves weird and dysfunctional agreements with the press and the public. 

It’s much more fun to play Where’s Waldo with photos than have that conversation…

[Sweetpickle]

3 hours ago, louisa05 said:

Everyday when I dismiss in elementary, kids whip out their smartphones while lining up. As young as second grade. George is turning 11 this summer, Charlotte 9 in May. Even if their access is limited, they have classmates that are online and are likely telling them that their mother is dead or dying or being held hostage or  she was actually in the hospital because their father beat her up or that he killed his cousin’s husband and more. 
 

Never mind the freaking picture. This shit is not okay and it’s not fun or entertaining when it negatively impacts real humans. 

I forgot the cell phone in their classmate's hands but it struck me that if Kate is dead etc. etc. that none of the Wales children have mentioned anything to their friends, teachers, etc at school and none of those people have breathed a word of it? I have no idea what is going on but I have to think the kids would have spilled the beans by now if it was something wildly different than what KP is saying.

[viii]

I highly doubt that anything is different than from what KP is saying. I fully believe that Kate needed unexpected surgery, the cause was severe enough she needed 10 days in the hospital and 3 months to recover, and that she shouldn't have to work while she is recovering from major invasive surgery. All of that I think is 100% true. 

The issue here is William. The media was extremely supportive of Kate in the beginning, albeit curious. But once William pulled out last minute from the memorial, citing vague personal reasons, that lit a match and now the online frenzy is enough that major media outlets have picked up on it. Then Kate photoshopped a picture poorly, and now the conspiracies have really run wild. I think Kate has edited majority of their pictures in the past, but they've usually a) come with a disclaimer or b) haven't been a bunch of photos cobbled together to form one photo. The media has long begrudged William and Kate for cutting them out when it comes to photos. It used to be a mark of honor to be selected to photograph the royal family for family pictures and now William and Kate have essentially ended that for their children. (Which is whatever, I think Kate taking pictures results in natural, happier looking kids anyway), but the grudge from the media has now blossomed into a vendetta and the whole thing has become incredibly messy. 

[louisa05]

A couple of things...

A lot of the freaking out seems to come from people who know nothing about the Wales family. I've seen posts that "how has she not been seen leaving Kensington Palace at all?". Because she doesn't live there anymore. I saw a long detailed claim that the photo in the car yesterday was fake because the bricks didn't match the bricks in a previous photo of Pippa visiting Kensington Palace. Because they don't live there anymore. I saw one that someone knows someone that knows someone that is regularly in the neighborhood of Thomas's Battersea school and the children haven't been seen being dropped off or picked up so something is definitely wrong...except they haven't gone to school there since 2022. And then there is the screaming about the photo...some journalist determined what kind of camera was used. Commenters immediately went nuts that there is no way they'd have that kind of camera. And, of course, there's no way that Kate would know how to photoshop or otherwise alter photos. And why would they take photos of their own kids when they have (apparently) a personal photographer on their staff. Except they have no such person and Kate has long taken photos of the kids as well as famously taking other photos such as one for the Holocaust survivors project and a magazine cover of Camilla. So a lot of this nonsense is literally coming from ignorance. 

And forgive me for having read so much of this crap in the last two days...we have a stomach bug at our house. Nothing else to do besides sip ginger ale. 

Secondly, this whole "where is kate?" nonsense is absolutely a moment for Occam's Razor. The most logical explanation is the simplest one: she had a major abdominal surgery and needs a few months to recover. There's no reason they would lie about that. And everyone deserves medical privacy. 

[tabitha2]

On another note William has attended Thomas Kingstons funeral and reception today.

 

https://news.sky.com/story/thomas-kingston-funeral-held-for-prince-and-princess-michael-of-kents-son-in-law-13093325

[louisa05]

One more thought: 

The real problem here is that in our world of constant oversharing by celebrities, leaders, and average people with social media accounts, someone maintaining privacy is not believable. That's what's happening here. I've seen multiple people asking why her friends are not telling the media what is happening, or why she or her team aren't posting on social media... someone maintaining privacy is incomprehensible now. 

[noseybutt]

38 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

One more thought: 

The real problem here is that in our world of constant oversharing by celebrities, leaders, and average people with social media accounts, someone maintaining privacy is not believable. That's what's happening here. I've seen multiple people asking why her friends are not telling the media what is happening, or why she or her team aren't posting on social media... someone maintaining privacy is incomprehensible now. 

Sort of.

I agree with everything you say as far as average people go.

The difference is that the BRF are paid to be celebrities. That’s the job description if they want to stay relevant. It’s a horrible bargain they make, but make it they do.

 

[viii]

And let’s be honest - William and Kate’s kids have a lot more privacy than royal children of the past. They do a great job of protecting them. William and Kate in general have a lot more privacy than royal couples used to. 

Edited March 13 by viii

[Coconut Flan]

Average people have trouble maintaining privacy these days. The questions I’ve been asked about my surgery have been astoundingly invasive. I have a stock list of responses for the tactless and rude.

[noseybutt]

1 hour ago, Coconut Flan said:

Average people have trouble maintaining privacy these days. The questions I’ve been asked about my surgery have been astoundingly invasive. I have a stock list of responses for the tactless and rude.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Mrs Ms]

5 hours ago, Coconut Flan said:

Average people have trouble maintaining privacy these days. The questions I’ve been asked about my surgery have been astoundingly invasive. I have a stock list of responses for the tactless and rude.

I hope one of the responses includes some variation of “won’t spill my guts”.  

On a serious note, hopefully you are recovering well and not having to deal with too many arseholes!

[noseybutt]

@JermajestyDuggar’s thread on the Shaw family has me thinking about ableism. Given how badly people react to obvious signs of ill health or disability (canes, colostomy bags, wheelchairs), and how this reaction is typically magnified for celebrities, I don’t blame Kate for wanting to look healthier than healthy. 

[just_ordinary]

The theories are wild and I am very amazed at how many experts are around be it medical, or royal protocol or photoshop. And even more people seem to have an in to the very tight knit circle and everyone knows someone who knows something. It’s so entertaining. It’s as if after all the Sussex frenzy finally has died down, W said to H: hold my beer. 
I do think though, that the overexposure of H&M means they are not bringing in the clicks anymore. Just like with PA (most are thankfully in agreement that he should have had his days in court and is lucky he didn’t and therefore should never ever try a come back), people don’t have any time for their shit anymore. So the tabloids look back at W&K. Just like 9 years ago, they are making headlines by making the „villains“ and I am sure it’s a welcome comeback for them being so private. It’s just annoying that KP actually felt the need to respond at all. They should know better.

[Giraffe]

@Coconut Flan what's been your favorite "fuck off" you've used so far?