The British royal family owes much of its popularity with the public to its careful control of image and perception. Take the royal weddings which started being televised in 1981 with the marriage of then Prince (now King) Charles to Lady Diana Spencer in a spectacle viewed by 14 million households. Three decades later, Prince William and Kate Middleton’s 2011 marriage drew 18 million viewers, while Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in September 2022 drew millions of mourners across the world.
The perfectly orchestrated fairy-tale grandeur (combined with copious media coverage) has fueled a longstanding fascination with the royals. But this week’s uproar over a manipulated photo has turned the royal fairy tale into a public-relations nightmare for the family. Aside from laying bare the importance of myth in royal lore, the episode offers a preview of what the public can expect as AI becomes increasingly mainstream: a crisis of confidence for the communications industry as a whole, as more people question the legitimacy of photos, statements, and information released by once-trusted institutions.
“The Catherine Middleton photo controversy signals a turning point in the wider public doubting what they see,” Rebecca May, founder and director of London-based public relations firm RM Publicity, tells Fortune. “As such a worldwide institution and trusted family globally, it naturally raises concerns in the future of trusting authoritative organizations and institutions.”
To be clear, no one has confirmed that the photo released by Kate Middleton this weekend was AI-generated or -manipulated, but the public reaction highlights the erosion of trust in media that is likely to accelerate in the coming years.
What’s going on with Kate Middleton?
If you haven’t kept up with the Kate Middleton photo drama, here’s a quick rundown. In mid-January, Kensington Palace released a statement informing the public that the princess would be out of the public eye through Easter (the last weekend of March) for “planned abdominal surgery.” Since then, conspiracy theories about her true whereabouts have been plentiful—especially after the recent release of three photos believed to have been manipulated.
Last week, a pixelated photo surfaced of a woman who appeared to be Kate wearing sunglasses in a car with her mother, Carole Middleton. Then on Sunday, Kensington Palace released a photo on X and Instagram of the Princess of Wales with her…
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