The Wales family have marked Prince William’s birthday with a never before seen portrait of the future King and his three children but the “epic” snap has already sparked photo editing speculation.
Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis celebrated their father’s birthday via the official Kensington Palace social media account on Friday and included a brand-new family snap presumably taken on a recent holiday by Princess Catherine.
“Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx,” the caption read.
The new family photo shows William, George, Charlotte and Louis hand in hand as they leap over a sand dune.
Thousands of royal fans, including survivalist Bear Grylls, flooded the comments sections on Instagram and X to wish the Prince of Wales a happy 42nd birthday.
“Happy birthday! Fatherhood: example example example and you do it beautifully,” Grylls wrote.
English actress and Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham also wished the future monarch a happy birthday.
“Epic pic! Happy birthday sir,” she wrote on Instagram.
However, in a case of déjà vu some commenters were quick to point out that the family photo appeared edited.
“Why so photoshopped?” one Instagram user speculated.
“They are a beautiful family and this image is great fun but it just looks fake.”
Another user marvelled at how the royals were able to leap so high off the ground.
“Is there a trampoline hiding? That is an incredible jump.”
The brand-new photo of the Wales family comes months after a similar family snap of Kate and her children caused a global sensation amid image doctoring claims, prompting a rare comment from the Princess herself.
The image of Catherine, George, Charlotte and Louis was released on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s official social media accounts in March to mark Mother’s Day.
The viral photo was quickly circulated around the globe by major news and photography agencies and momentarily assuaged ongoing online speculation about the Princess of Wales’s health.
However, hours later four of the largest photo agencies issued a “kill notice” for the image after members of the public noticed a number of odd editing fails in the snap.
The Princess later issued an apology for any “confusion” sparked by the image.
“I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a statement.