Prince William and Kate Middleton Subtly Slam the Media With the Release of Prince Louis’ Birthday Photo

Prince William and Kate Middleton dealt with plenty of criticism back in March after the Wales family released an image of Kate with her three children for the United Kingdom’s Mother’s Day holiday. The family apparently edited the photo, which was visible to the naked eye once people zoomed in. It forced Kate to issue an apology and only added to the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate’s then-disappearance.

Now, though, the family just released an image of Prince Louis in honor of his birthday, and it appeared to send a message to the press that had previously criticized the prince and princess.

Prince Louis’ unedited birthday photo sends a message to the media

Prince William and Kate Middleton have not released any personal images since the Mother’s Day photo disaster, where an image of Kate with her kids was apparently heavily doctored. The press questioned whether or not William and Kate would end up releasing an image for Louis’ birthday, which was the next occasion for the family following Mother’s Day in March. William and Kate did release the image on social media; the photo is known to be completely unedited.

The photo sent a message to the media: William and Kate won’t be intimidated. While the Mother’s Day image wasn’t exactly the best look for the family, they refuse to have the public thinking their children’s images are doctored. The birthday image shows Prince Louis smiling up close to the camera, and plenty of fans left comments in support of William and Kate; many people thanked William and Kate for being willing to share a photo as there were rumors the couple would avoid sharing non-professional photos of their family moving forward. There were also rumors that Kensington Palace chose not to release the image to the media first, which is unverified — but if true, it would subtly double-down on the message the prince and princess were trying to send.

Prince William and Kate Middleton likely learned a lesson with the Mother’s Day image

People in the public eye often edit their photos; it’s highly unlikely that celebrities post images to social media that haven’t been altered in some way, even if it’s just the lighting. But William and Kate learned a hard lesson that they are not exempt from public criticism despite that many people appreciate and support them.

Of course, there are consequences to actions, and while William and Kate were likely just trying to quiet the conspiracy noise by releasing that Mother’s Day photo, they instead only added fuel to the fire. It was fair for the media to call the couple out on the edits, but William and Kate also deserve some grace as it’s almost normal for high-profile people to edit their pictures. Of course, Prince Louis’ birthday image was somewhat of a comeback photo, showing that William and Kate won’t let one scandal break their family dynamic.