King Charles in war with Democrats as he gets erased from Andrew's photo with Bill Gates

King Charles is at the centre of a political storm after House Democrats released a cropped version of an old photograph that chops him out of a frame featuring Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Gates.

The original image, taken by Getty Images photographer Dominic Lipinski at a 2018 Malaria Summit in London, clearly included him alongside Andrew and Gates. 

Instead of using the untouched photo in the latest batch of images released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee, Democrats opted for a version with Charles cropped out. 

This move sparked confusion online, with critics questioning the editorial choice even as officials stressed there’s no suggestion of wrongdoing by those featured in the newly released photos. 

The cropped image came as part of 19 photographs recently shared from the estate of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a controversial set that also includes pictures of high‑profile figures such as Donald Trump and Bill Clinton. 

In one striking photo covered by major outlets, Trump appears with several unidentified women, his face adorned on a bowl of novelty condoms details that have grabbed headlines as the committee pushes for public transparency.

Oversight panel members say their trove of tens of thousands of photos from Epstein’s estate is being released to illuminate the financier’s ties to powerful figures. 

Republicans, however, contend that Democrats are selectively curating the images to score political points.

Rep. Robert Garcia, the committee’s top Democrat, says the goal is to end what he calls a “White House cover‑up” and compel the Department of Justice to publish all relevant records.