Palace adds fuel to the conspiracy theorists’ fire
Sighting of Princess in Berkshire village caps extraordinary 36 hours amid photo furore
‘We had no idea that Kate was even in the car with him until we looked at it. It was pure luck’
THE last time the village of Datchet was in the news was when it suffered from floods in the winter of 2014. Since then, it has returned to the quiet anonymity its residents have always valued.
Their peace may be about to be shattered, though, after the Berkshire village became the unlikely backdrop to the latest twist in the drama surrounding the Princess of Wales.
The Princess, who has not made any public appearances since her surgery on Jan 17, broke cover yesterday and was photographed next to the Prince of Wales in the back seat of a car as it drove down Datchet High Street.
Her presence was such a surprise that the two freelance photographers who captured the image had to look twice at their pictures. Kensington Palace aides were also caught off guard on a day of turmoil for the Waleses.
Just over two hours earlier, the Princess had issued an unprecedented public apology, admitting blame after a family photograph was altered to such an extent it had been withdrawn for failing to meet industry standards.
After weeks of wild conspiracy theories about the Princess’s health and her whereabouts since her withdrawal from the public eye, the picture of her with her three children, released for Mother’s Day, had been designed to put the rumours to rest, once and for all.
Instead, it did the opposite. So much digital tinkering had been done to the picture that it prompted further questions about whether any element of the photograph was genuine, including the Princess’s appearance.
So it was serendipitous that two photographers had based themselves on Datchet High Street, a stone’s throw from the Prince and Princess’s family home on the Windsor estate. Knowing the Prince was due at the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey that afternoon they thought they would snap him as he made his way into central London.
“It was about 1.50pm when we saw the convoy coming towards us and we managed to get a quick picture,” one of the photographers said.
“We had no idea that Kate was even in the car with him until we looked at it. It was pure luck.”
Curiously, the Princess was heading to London for a private appointment but had apparently decided to travel with her husband, leaving her own vehicle to follow behind.
She gazed out of the window of the Range Rover as the Prince appeared to read notes on his phone. At some point they went their separate ways, as the Prince arrived at the Abbey alone, as had always been planned.
As luck would have it, the photographers standing in Datchet High Street managed to achieve what the Princess herself had been aiming for with her own image – to prove that she was alive and well. The sighting capped an extraordinary 36 hours.
For days, journalists had been asking the palace whether it would be releasing a Mother’s Day picture. Often, such images are released to the media a day in advance. But not this time. Confirmation there would be an image came 30 minutes before it was published on the Prince and Princess’s social media at 9am on Sunday. Kensington Palace said it had been taken in Windsor last week by the Prince of Wales.
Predictably, it sent social media into meltdown. But among the messages from wellwishers were many raising questions about its authenticity. Kensington Palace said nothing, seemingly hoping it could simply ride out the increasingly wild speculation.
It was just after 7.30pm on Sunday when matters took a dramatic turn. Associated Press, the global news agency, issued a “kill” notice warning customers that it could not guarantee the royal portrait’s authenticity. The development was news to Kensington Palace. The team believed the matter had been put to bed.
Other agencies followed. Still Kensington Palace said nothing. Just after 10am the Press Association withdrew the image, citing an “absence of clarification” from Kensington Palace about its contents.
Meanwhile, aides had the task of calling Adelaide Cottage to bring the Prince and Princess up to speed.
The Princess is said to been distressed at the accusations. At 10.28am, 13 and a half hours after the photograph was released, she stepped forward to take the blame. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a statement published on X, formerly Twitter. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”
If aides thought the statement would draw a line under the affair, they would be disappointed.
Media industry insiders argued it underlined the problems caused when those unfamiliar with industry standards on authenticity insist on controlling their own public image. It also prompted questions about whether images released by the palace had been altered in the past.
The Princess, patron of both the National Portrait Gallery and the Royal Photographic Society, also faced the prospect that her own credibility as a photographer had been dented.
The Prince of Wales, meanwhile, attended the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. The organisers had chosen resilience and endurance as its themes, unaware of how keenly they would apply to the Royal family on this particular day.
With the King and the Princess of Wales both absent, it was up to the Queen and the Prince of Wales to show how the monarchy deals with adversity. They walked side by side, each offering support to the other.
Their role, however, was passive. Instead of delegating responsibility for the message to his son and heir, the King recorded it so it could be played on video screens at the Abbey.
The intention, no doubt, was to show the King remains at his desk despite his treatment, and that as head of the Commonwealth he continues to serve “to the best of my ability”.
His Majesty talked of the Commonwealth nations “working together to build resilience” while the Bible reading, from the Book of James, talked of endurance.
Resilience was on display in the congregation, too, as Geri Halliwell-horner, a supporter of the Prince’s Trust, attended the service despite the crisis over her husband Christian Horner’s alleged Whatsapp messages to a female employee. Later, Prince William attended a “Launchpad” event to promote a Dragons’ Den-style scheme.
If photographers and television cameras descend on Datchet hoping to capture more images of the Princess, the residents of the Thames-side village may have to demonstrate resilience of their own in the days to come.