How Royal Experts Think Kate Middleton and Prince William Should Handle the Royal Photoshop Scandal

"The integrity of our future King and Queen is at stake," Dr. Tessa Dunlop told 'The Mirror.'

A royal expert is weighing in on the Kate Middleton family-photo scandal — and anticipating disastrous results if certain measures aren’t taken.

The photo in question is, of course, the one released by the Prince and Princess of Wales from their home, Adelaide Cottage, last Friday. The Mother's Day photo was allegedly taken by William and posted by Kate Middleton, but the image was badly doctored — leaving many viewers with questions about whether the photo was even real and, if so, when it was taken. (Middleton was also notably not wearing her wedding ring in the image.)

Various news agencies, including the AP, yanked the photo from their systems on Sunday evening after realizing it had been manipulated, and the following day, Princess Kate posted an apology on Instagram, claiming she’d been fiddling with the image before posting it simply because she was an “amateur photographer” (though she has ample experience with photography; in fact, it’s one of her passions).

Public demands for the release of unretouched photo have been mounting online, but so far, the palace has failed to release the original pic.

Royal expert Dr. Tessa Dunlop echoed what thousands have been thinking when she talked to The Mirror. “We have long known that Kate is the royal family’s photographer...but apparently, it was William who took this photograph, so why is she the one modifying it? And if the princess only indulged in a bit of light editing, why on earth doesn’t the Palace release the original photograph?”

Dunlop believes the Palace must release the original if it wants to regain the public's trust, telling The Mirror, “This has blown up into a major media storm because people feel the royal family — who also doubles up as an institution of state — are not being honest with them. And if you can't trust Kensington Palace, then who can you trust?”

She also told the publication there was only one way to remedy things at this point: the Palace must release the picture. “To make this go away, the Palace needs to release the original picture. The integrity of our future King and Queen is at stake."

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