Kate Middleton’s uncle Gary Goldsmith says he doesn’t think the Waleses ‘would have touched-up the Mother’s Day photo themselves’, amid claims the image had been manipulated.
The Palace is today facing questions after the photo was withdrawn by international picture agencies after fans pointed to ‘errors’ that allegedly prove it has been edited.
However, the Princess of Wales’ uncle attempted to squash these claims by saying the family looked ‘beautiful’ and ‘really genuine’ in the photograph.
Speaking to Good Morning Britain about the image, Mr Goldsmith said: ‘The smiles on faces said it all for me, I thought it was beautiful.
‘Obviously the family wouldn’t be the ones to do any touch-ups, so if that’s gone through some filter before it’s gone out to the broader world, but they wouldn’t be doing photoshopping themselves.
‘But all I was looking at is the faces and the smiles and it just looks like a beautiful family that they are, and they look really genuine, smiles on faces. And this whole “sleevegate” thing, just leave it alone.’
The millionaire businessman, 58, also revealed he had not spoken to his niece ‘in ages’, as he became the first contestant evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house on Friday.
Gary Goldsmith spoke to Good Morning Britain today for the first time since he was evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house on Friday.
Kensington Palace has released the first picture of Kate since her surgery as the Princess of Wales thanked the public for their support in a Mother’s Day message while she continues to recuperate
It appears Charlotte’s hand was copied over from another picture as there is an empty space where her sleeve should be
Kate’s zip appears to be misaligned on the photo as the top of it is further left and appears significantly lighter than the rest of the zip
Charlotte’s hair seems to end abruptly on her shoulder on her right despite her hair on the left going on for a few inches
The corner of Charlotte’s skirt was pointed out as another ‘editing error’ by social media sleuths
He added: ‘I haven’t spoke to Kate in ages. In years, maybe a year. Weddings and funerals is when we see them.’
The millionaire businessman was the first housemate to be evicted from the ITV revival series of Celebrity Big Brother on Friday.
He had been up for eviction against The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lauren Simon.
As he stepped back into the real world this weekend, concerns were raised over the possible digital manipulation of his niece’s new family photograph showing Kate, 42, with her three children in the first official picture of the Princess of Wales since undergoing abdominal surgery in January.
From Prince Louis’s hands to clothing patterns and lines not matching up, eagle-eyed members of the public pointed out a litany of what they believed to be suspicious issues with the photo.
The most common ‘editing errors’ found by social media sleuths were Kate’s absent wedding ring, Charlotte’s blurred skirt and her partially missing sleeve and Kate’s misaligned zip.
The picture, said to be taken by the Prince of Wales, is still up on the official social media channels and the Palace has not yet commented on the concerns raised about the picture.
Royal experts have said the decision to ‘kill’ the Mother’s Day photo could be damaging for the Firm, with the public now likely to ‘question whether health updates can be trusted’.
Royal commentator Peter Hunt said: ‘This is damaging for the royals. They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate.
‘Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.’
Without an official response from the palace, the apparent editing errors in the photograph added fuel to the fire of the conspiracy theories circulating about the whereabouts of Kate Middleton.
The Princess of Wales has not been seen since she attended the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham
Reuters said the picture was being removed ‘following a post publication review’
Kate left hospital on January 29 and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to be reunited with her children almost two weeks after having the surgery. Pictured: Kate and William in September 2022
William has been stepping up royal engagements in Kate’s absence. Pictured: Prince William and Princess Kate are seen at a ceremonial welcome for The President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21 last year
Whilst still facing questions today over the photo, Buckingham Palace will be able to breathe a sigh of relief now that Mr Goldsmith has left the Big Brother house.
The uncle shared royal insight while on the show which was said to have ‘infuriated’ his family.
While Mr Goldsmith claimed he did not need the Firm’s stamp of approval to appear on the show, it is said the Palace was watching his every move.
Among the disclosures made in the Big Brother house, Mr Goldsmith commented on his niece’s health amid the torrent of speculation online.
He told presenter Fern Britton: ‘She’s getting the best care in the world and all the family has done is put the wagons around and look after family.
‘They put a statement out that just said, “We’ll just take some time to recoup and we’ll see you in Easter.”
Mr Goldsmith added: ‘She’s amazing, she’ll be back, of course she will.’
Sharing his own opinions, Mr Goldsmith also called for Prince Harry and Meghan to be stripped of their royal titles on Tuesday night’s episode.
He said: ‘I genuinely think their titles should be taken away’.
Mr Goldsmith also said Meghan Markle put a ‘stick in the spokes’ and claimed she is creating drama.
The businessman and film producer also said that he and the Princess of Wales’ mother, Carole, was a multi-millionaire by the age of 30.
During his time in the house, Mr Goldsmith also admitted he wants the chance to change the public’s perception of him, after always being known as the ‘black sheep’ of the Middleton family.
Gary Goldsmith speak after being evicted from the Big Brother House on March 8 2024
The Princess of Wales’ uncle Gary Goldsmith (pictured) was a Celebrity Big Brother housemate for a less than a week before the public voted to save Lauren Simon instead
The backlash to Sunday’s photo comes after the Wales’ family Christmas card was also criticised for a ‘Photoshop fail’ with one of Louis’ fingers apparently missing – at the time, sources insisted it was merely bent back.
Kensington Palace appeared to be taken by surprise at the development last night and declined to comment. But it will do little to quell fevered online and social media speculation around the princess, which the release of the picture had hoped to do.
It was originally posted directly by Kensington Palace onto their social media channels and then sent to global picture agencies.
It is said to have been taken by the Prince of Wales earlier in the week at their home in Windsor and is understood to have been sent on to the palace press office on Saturday directly by the couple.
Outside of a grainy paparazzi picture last week, it is the first time that Kate has been seen since she joined the Royal Family at church on Christmas Day.