King Willem-Alexander Pokes Fun at Kate Middleton Photo-Editing Saga

Kate Middleton, the wife of Prince William, admitted to editing a family picture of herself and her three children which was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts on Mothering Sunday in the U.K. Her statement, also shared across social media, came after several news agencies retracted the image due to suspicion that it had been doctored. 

The edited image has since fueled countless conspiracy theories around the world, as people continue to speculate over Kate’s health and whereabouts. She’s been absent from public life since undergoing a planned abdominal surgery in January.

Apparently, even the Dutch King Willem-Alexander is aware of the saga. During his visit on Tuesday to Zutphen, a city in the east of the Netherlands, he encountered several young school children wearing crowns and waving Dutch flags. One child made a remark about “a photograph with your whole family.” The King is quoted as responding with: “Really? At least I didn’t photoshop it.” Many people in the audience chuckled.

According to a translation by Dutch royal correspondent Rick Evers, the King said: “Really? That was not Photoshopped, apparently!”

In contrast to the British Royal Family, the Dutch Royal Family has a reputation for being relatively down to earth. Dutch royal children attend state schools and the adults are known to have regular jobs. Several years ago, King Willem-Alexander revealed he had served as a commercial airline pilot for KLM for over 21 years in a part-time capacity.

The Dutch Royal Family is on good terms with the British Royal Family, and were photographed together in the Order of the Garter service and at Ascot in 2019. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands also attended King Charles III’s coronation ceremony last year in May.