Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, managed to turn the world on its head in recent days by posting a badly Photoshopped photo of her and her kids. The picture fueled conspiracy theories about her whereabouts after a nearly two-month-long public absence—had she been replaced by a body double? Was she in a coma?—and prompted internet sleuths to examine it with a magnifying glass.
Upon seeing the chaos caused by the picture, Middleton came out to sheepishly say it was her doing and that she “occasionally experiment[s] with editing.” The online public appears to be largely unconvinced, with many stating that it doesn’t make sense for Middleton to get anywhere near photo-editing tools. (I am of the unpopular opinion that she’s just a mom who didn’t like a picture her husband took and decided to “fix” it herself).
While the debate on who was actually behind the photo continues to rage online, some have decided to dedicate themselves to another task entirely: making memes.
Given that Middleton has revealed herself to be Kensington Palace’s Photoshopper-in-Chief, the internet has banded together to help her in her task. Anticipating that the palace might be getting ready to release new photos of Middleton to assure the public that she’s in perfect health, users have crafted compelling memes of the Princess of Wales at President Biden’s 2021 inauguration, on vacation, and on the Titanic, to name a few. It’s best to have a wide amount of material to choose from, after all.
If anything, these acts of devotion from the online public are proof that the people identify with Middleton. Many ordinary folks have been confident in their Photoshop skills at one point or another. Nearly all have found out that it wasn’t the case.