Kate Middleton’s Photoshop debacle is stirring up quite a bit of controversy on the internet. While some people may dismiss it as nothing more than an honest mistake, in the age of misinformation, the major news agencies believed it was a serious issue.

They swiftly moved in with a “kill notice,” confirming that the Mother’s Day snapshot had been altered in some fashion.

Kensington Palace has been so careful to curate a picture-perfect image of Kate and Prince William, but it feels like the shiny exterior is starting to fall away – and insiders close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking notice.

“This isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make,” a source told Page Six. That’s because Meghan and Harry know there is no room for them to make errors like Kate’s photo-editing mess – they are very aware of how the British tabloids would treat them.

The Sussexes understand that they would “have been annihilated” if they had made the same error because “the same rules do not apply to both couples.” Harry and Meghan have been criticized for their hands-on approach to their post-royal careers, and they realize there’s very little breathing room with the British tabloids. It’s why Meghan “has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.”

Fans who have been supportive of Meghan and Harry over the years have called out the differences in how Kate has been treated. One X account noted, “After seven YEARS of bullying Meghan Markle, hate accounts are now saying 72 HOURS is ‘too much’ criticism of Kate Middleton. Very telling.” Another social media user pointed out the hypocrisy, “I hope it’s not lost on everyone that the royalists, who spend their lives picking apart every breath Meghan Markle takes are crying about a fraction of the scrutiny being on Kate Middleton for a change. William and Kate wanted the spotlight, and they’ve got it.”

The ongoing controversies coming from the palace have only confirmed that the Sussexes made the right choice for their family in exiting their senior roles. In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022, the palace has found itself embroiled in one scandal after another, and PR experts are shaking their heads. UK crisis publicist Mark Borkowski told People that the royal family’s “halfway” PR strategy is driving the controversy.

“The royals have got themselves cornered by giving some level of information but never enough,” said. “The difficulty now is because there is so little information about what’s happening to Kate, if they were going to project things are all normal in this way – with a photo that is now deemed to be fake – it is pretty damning about the floundering and the poor decision-making that’s going on.” It’s why Harry and Meghan are probably breathing a sigh of relief right now – they may be worried about Kate’s health, but they probably are glad the heat is off them for a while.