Amidst the online commotion sparked by an altered image featuring Kate Middleton and her trio of children last Sunday, Queen Camilla and Prince William embarked on a bustling itinerary of royal obligations the subsequent morning.
Their day commenced with a prominent presence at Westminster Abbey’s annual Commonwealth Day church service, where they spearheaded the royal procession. The service notably underscored the collective efforts within the Commonwealth to combat climate change. King Charles III, currently receiving outpatient care following a recent cancer diagnosis, conveyed his remarks through a prerecorded message.
On Monday morning, William and Kate were captured in a Land Rover en route to Buckingham Palace, with Kate reportedly heading for a “private appointment,” as per People magazine. Subsequently, William participated in an event promoting a new initiative under his Earthshot Prize, facilitating virtual discussions among climate-focused innovators.
Returning from a week-long vacation, Camilla graced the Commonwealth Day reception at Marlborough House in central London. Adorned in a black evening gown, she engaged with representatives from the association of 54 nations, accompanied by Princess Anne and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh.
The attendees included members of a Samoan band, Baroness Scotland of Asthal (the Commonwealth’s secretary-general), and various high commissioners from across the Commonwealth.
The subsequent day saw Camilla orchestrating a star-studded celebration at Buckingham Palace in honor of International Women’s Day, aligned with her patronage of the Women of the World Foundation and its Girls Festival Bus.
Among the illustrious guests were Queen Mathilde of Belgium, the Duchess of Gloucester, Dame Helen Mirren, Melanie Brown, Sophia Smith Galer, Jude Kelly (CEO of WOW Foundation), and Dame Kelly Holmes. Camilla explored the bus, housing artifacts emblematic of women’s history, including rocks used in the 1914 suffragist protest at Buckingham Palace.
At the festival, the organization presented the queen with a bespoke Barbie doll, eliciting delight from Camilla, who quipped, “You’ve taken about 50 years off my life. We should all have a Barbie.”
These events marked a return to normalcy for a family navigating health crises and media scrutiny. Following the dissemination of a photo by the Prince and Princess of Wales that prompted various wire services to issue a “kill notice,” Kate issued an apologetic note, acknowledging minor alterations to the image and expressing regret over any ensuing confusion.
Further investigation by SkyNews Data and Forensics teams revealed the photo’s metadata, indicating capture with a Canon 5D Mark IV and subsequent editing in Photoshop, raising scrutiny. A palace insider revealed to The Times that Kate felt remorseful about the incident and strived to mitigate the fallout, even as the Kensington Palace staff was taken aback by the unexpected photo arrival after weeks of deliberation on its release.
