A Christmas card released by the Spanish Royal Family has resurfaced online and left fans in hysterics thanks its poor Photoshopping.
The image, which was taken in 2005, has re-emerged after the Princess of Wales admitted to editing her Mother’s Day post yesterday.
In the family portrait, King Juan Carlos – who abdicated in June 2014 – is seen sitting on a red sofa next to his wife Queen Sofia, who is holding their baby granddaughter Princess Leonor.
In front of the sofa, the royal couple’s other grandchildren – Felipe, Victoria Eugenia, Miguel, Juan, Irene and Pablo – are seen sitting on green velvet cushion.
However, royal watchers at the time noticed that King Juan Carlos’ leg had been edited out the photo.
This prompted a Palace spokesperson to admit that photo editing software had been used to create the image.
After struggling to get all the grandchildren together in a room, the Palace superimposed photos of the royals onto the same background for the sake of the Christmas card.
A spokesperson said: ‘It is not a photograph of an official event – it is merely a compilation used as a Christmas greeting.’
Following the Princess of Wales’ admission that she had edited her Mother’s Day photo, royal journalist Eugenia Garavani shared the infamous Christmas card with her 116,000 Instagram followers.
She captioned the post: ‘Royals and photoshop, say no more. This is the Spanish royal family Christmas card in 2005, for real.’
The post had followers in hysterics and prompted fans to point out other problems with the image.
One said: ‘The funny thing is that [Irene] is in short sleeves and her [siblings] are in winter clothes.’
Another added: ‘Was ANYONE present for this photo in real life?’
A third wrote: ‘Wow! And no apologies and no regrets!’
Earlier this week, the Palace had come under mounting pressure to reveal the truth behind the Mother’s Day photo after the world’s top picture and news agencies – including PA – ‘killed’ the image over claims it had been digitally manipulated.
The photo of the mother-of-three beaming with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis was the first official picture released of the princess since she underwent ‘planned abdominal surgery’ in January.
A statement from the Princess of Wales said: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 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. C’
Royal sources stressed that this was ‘an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales’.
They said the couple wanted to offer an ‘informal’ picture of the family together for Mother’s Day and the princess made ‘minor adjustments’, as she has shared in her statement on social media. An aide added: ‘The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.’
Despite calls for the original to be published, Kensington Palace said it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
It comes after PA – Britain’s most respected picture agency – this morning joined AP, AFP, Reuters, Getty Images and EPA in withdrawing the photo.
It is not the first time the Waleses’ photos have come under the spotlight. Most recently, in December, the family’s Christmas portrait was hit with criticism from around the world.
In the snap, William and Kate are seen smiling alongside their sons Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte who is seated in a chair at the front of the group.
Photographed by Josh Shinner, each member of the Wales family is donning a white shirt, adding to the striking monochrome aesthetic.
Eagle-eyed observers, though, were left puzzled as they focused in on the left hand of Prince Louis and noticed his middle finger appears to be missing.
Others raised questions about William’s leg as he appeared to have adopted a wide stance but only his right leg was visible. Similarly, only one of Kate’s feet is in view behind the chair Charlotte is perched on.
Many speculated the image had been poorly edited or photoshopped, with one social media user writing: ‘While it’s a nice family photo, as soon as I looked at it, I noticed Louis’ hand. He’s missing a finger.’
However, a royal source told the Mail: ‘It’s not photoshopped. It seems as if he [Louis]… just bent his finger over. He’s certainly not lost a finger – don’t worry about that!’
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Lydia Hawken
