Prince Philip, 99, Appears for Birthday Snap With the Queen—and No, It Has Not Been Digitally Altered
Online Prince Philip-truthers hit speculation overdrive Wednesday morning as a new 99th birthday picture of the Duke of Edinburgh and his wife at Windsor Castle raised eyebrows.
Steve Parsons/AP
Sources at Buckingham Palace have told The Daily Beast that there is no truth to rumors circulating online that a new picture of Prince Philip, who celebrates his 99th birthday today, and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, has been digitally altered.
The picture, released today, shows the couple standing outside at Windsor Castle with the imposing stone edifice looming in the background.
However, the image became the source of much online debate Wednesday after some people said that various quirks of the photograph made it look as if the picture had been digitally altered.
At the risk of being called a horrible person it looks like a photoshop job to me... https://t.co/cYjqmQFhxU
— Peter Ford (@mrpford) June 9, 2020
However a senior courtier told The Daily Beast that the picture was “not altered” and insisted that “there was nothing done to the picture.”
The source said the slightly unusual aspect that some Philip-truthers have detected was due to the location where the picture was taken, one of Windsor Castle’s famous quadrangles, which are large lawns surrounded on four sides by the walls of the ancient buildings. The pop-out appearance of the queen and her husband is due to “the contrast to the sun in the quadrangle and the shadow they are standing in.
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Philip is said to have wanted a “no fuss” celebration of his birthday, with celebrations limited to a “simple lunch” with the queen at Windsor Castle, where they have been isolating together for the past three months.
It is thought to be the longest they have spent together under one roof in their 73 years of married life.
Philip had been living at a farmhouse on Her Majesty’s Sandringham estate since his retirement from public duties two years ago, where he has spent his days reading and painting.
In the photograph, Philip wears the tie of the Welsh Guards and a Grenadier Guards boating jacket that, according to Sky News, is decorated with buttons from the era of each reigning monarch going back to King William IV.
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