Kate Middleton follows Queen Victoria's footsteps as photo secrets go back 170 years

Kate Middleton has become one of the most photographed members of the Royal Family.

A fascinating new exhibition at Blenheim Palace reveals that the royals’ careful relationship with the camera dates back more than a century.

The Princess of Wales is among the modern royal figures whose public image has been shaped through photography, a tradition explored in Life Through a Royal Lens, the birthplace of Winston Churchill.

A display at Blenheim explains how the invention of photography helped to humanise the monarchywith relatable images .

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were among the earliest members of the Royal Family to recognise the possibilities of the emerging technology. 

Photography was publicly announced in 1839, shortly after Victoria became Queen, and the royal couple quickly embraced its potential.

At a time when monarchies across continental Europe were beginning to disappear, Victoria and Albert used photography to present a more personal image of the British monarchy. 

One revealing photograph displayed at Blenheim dates back to 1852 and shows Victoria surrounded by five of her children. Yet the Queen’s own face has been conspicuously scratched away.

Victoria disliked how she looked in the photograph and altered the image herself, later recording in her journal: “Mine was unfortunately horrid, but the children’s were pretty.”

In 2024, the Princess of Wales received backlash after a photograph of her with her three children, released for Mother’s Day, was withdrawn by several major picture agencies amid concerns that it had been digitally altered.

Catherine subsequently addressed the controversy herself, writing: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 

I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Victoria could alter an image of herself without having to explain her decision. 

More than 170 years later, Catherine was required to respond after international picture agencies questioned the authenticity of an official royal photograph.