Many Brits have been wondering, where on Earth is Kate Middleton? The Princess of Wales has barely been out in public since having abdominal surgery late last year. The conspiracy theory mill has speculated on every possible scenario, from a covered-up death to a BBL.
Brits have been having parasocial relationships with royal family members since before we even knew what ‘parasocial relationships’ were. These imagined relationships with celebrities are driven by a real sense of entitlement to their personal lives.
That entitlement over the royal family, for some reason, has led Kate Middleton to suddenly embrace her creator era.
After a post-surgery paparazzi picture provided more questions than answers, Kate Middleton released a photo of her and her three kids in recognition of Mother’s Day in the UK on March 10. But what could’ve been a decisive end to these rumors soon turned into another mystery.
The social media photo had telltale signs of digital manipulation — like distorted hands, wiggly backdrops, and disappearing clothes sleeves. The clear signs of editing led news agencies like the AP to take the unprecedented step of recalling the royal family photograph entirely and refusing to publish it.
Kate Middleton then released a statement claiming the Photoshopping was her fault.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Kate Middleton tweeted. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
This explanation once again caused scrutiny. It’s hard to really envision the future Queen of England as an “amateur photographer” adding Instagram filters from her sick bed.
But what if she’s telling the truth? I think we can all relate to the pressure to ‘contentify’ our lives for social media. The personal touch that comes with taking and editing our own photos arguably gives a sense of authenticity and relatability that audiences love.
But with this authenticity comes a margin of error which, for all its flaws, can actually be quite charming in its own way. It shows us that we’re all human and capable of making mistakes. So, what if being an amateur creator was the most relatable thing Kate Middleton has ever done?
