Downing Street likely believed Kensington Palace had been “foolish and unprofessional” in its handling of the Princess of Wales’s photo editing, according to royal author Valentine Low.
The controversy erupted in March 2024 when Kensington Palace released a Mother’s Day photograph of the Princess of Wales with her three children.
Within hours, major news agencies including Reuters, Associated Press and Agence France-Presse issued rare retractions, citing “manipulation” and “inconsistencies” in the image.
The decision by international agencies to pull the picture fuelled a wave of speculation about the Princess’s health, which had already been the subject of intense scrutiny following her abdominal surgery that January.
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Days later, the Princess of Wales issued a statement acknowledging she “occasionally experimented with editing” and apologised for the confusion the altered image had caused.
Speaking exclusively to GB News, Mr Low said: “I don’t know exactly what Downing Street thought, but I suspect they would have considered the Palace foolish and unprofessional.
“At the same time, they would have had sympathy for them, and they absolutely were not going to do anything that would make matters worse. That is how I imagine the Downing Street view to be.”
In his new book Power and the Palace, Mr Low describes the moment as one of the most unusual intersections between politics and royal life.
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He points to a Daily Mail column published at the height of the controversy by veteran royal writer Richard Kay, who compared the handling of the situation to the breakdown of the marriage of Charles and Diana.
Mr Kay argued that the Royal Family was at “the eleventh hour” over the doctored photograph and the announcement of the King’s cancer diagnosis, writing that John Major had failed to intervene during the Charles and Diana crisis in the 1990s, and that Rishi Sunak was “missing in action” in 2024.
Mr Low questioned that assessment. “I would argue that actually Major was significantly involved in the Charles and Diana crisis,” he wrote, “and it would be interesting to find out from Kay exactly what more he thinks either prime minister should have done.”
The scandal over the edited photo became a turning point in public discussion of the Princess of Wales’s role, the Palace’s media strategy and the balance between privacy and transparency.
Rishi Sunak was the Prime Minister at the time of the scandal
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REUTERSJohn Major was known to have sympathy with Princess Diana
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Critics accused Kensington Palace of undermining trust by distributing a manipulated image without explanation, while supporters pointed to the Princess’s ill health and the unprecedented pressures she faced.
Mr Low suggested that while Downing Street would never have directly intervened, officials may have quietly shared the view that the Palace mishandled the episode.
But he believes ministers would also have recognised the human sensitivity of the situation and avoided any actions that could exacerbate the controversy.
The photo row, combined with the King’s cancer diagnosis just weeks earlier, ensured that the spring of 2024 was one of the most turbulent periods for the monarchy in years.
It also reinforced the enduring scrutiny of the Princess of Wales, whose appearances and statements continue to carry significant weight for the institution.