Royal fans are convinced image of Windsor Castle have been edited as they claim it ‘looks like a model’ and ‘Photoshopped trees’ have replaced the high street

Royal fans are once again back on the Photoshop case – and this time a picture of Windsor Castle has come under scrutiny. 

A photograph, which has been circulating on social media, is an aerial image showing the sprawling grounds of the residence of the British Royal Family in Berkshire. 

The image is often posted on architecture, history and tourism pages on Facebook, sometimes attracting tens of thousands of likes. 

However, the Royal Family’s photos have come under immense scrutiny ever since Kate Middleton’s edited Mother’s Day picture was released on March 10, and now eagle-eyed social media detectives have pointed out a number of supposed ‘errors’ in the picture of the 11th century castle and claimed it’s been ‘Photoshopped’. 

One Reddit sleuth wrote: ‘Keep seeing this picture of Windsor Castle on FB but every time I look it looks more like a model.’

A picture of the castle as it stands today shows that the right side is actually lined by buildings instead of trees

It is unclear where the photo has originated from – but a very similar picture appeared on the front cover of The History and Treasures of Windsor Castle by Sir Robin Mackworth-Young, published in 1982. 

Reddit users are convinced that several changes have since been made to the image, and including trees that have been ‘copy and pasted’ onto the right-hand side of the castle, while a car park has been erased. 

Any cars that were parked on the inner castle grounds have also been smoothed over.  

There’s no indication as to who could have changed the image, or suggestion that the royals are responsible. 

Commenters on Reddit were quick to share their opinions, writing: ‘Can confirm photo isn’t real… mostly’; 

‘To the left of the castle should be the Riverside station, railway tracks, offices, and even the Thames’; 

‘Where’s actual Windsor? Like the shops and restaurants… Railway?’; 

An almost identical picture appeared on the front cover of The History and Treasures of Windsor Castle by Sir Robin Mackworth-Young, published in 1982

‘Stuff on the right side is just copy and paste trees.’ 

‘Right? Where’s the Wetherspoons and McDonald’s opposite,’ another pointed out.

Shouldn’t you be able to see the river on the left too?’ a commenter pointed out. ‘The missing road is confusing the hell out of me and making it hard to figure out if the river should be in shot.

‘There was a car that crashed into the wall just a few days ago that wouldn’t have got near it because of the trees in that image!’

It follows a frenzy around royal photographs, after Kate Middleton’s Mother’s Day photograph featured apparent ‘photoshop fails’. 

The picture-perfect image of a smiling Kate, 42, surrounded by her three children was supposed to put an end to vicious conspiracy theories swirling online about her condition. 

But picture agencies including Reuters, AP, Getty and AFP withdrew the picture due to concerns over digital manipulation. 

Some royal watchers pointed out that Princess Charlotte’s wrist and sleeve of her jumper appeared to have been digitally altered. There also appeared to be an issue with the heel of Charlotte’s boot and with the paving behind the family.

Others pointed to Prince Louis’ fingers on his right hand being crossed apparently in an unusual way with one of his digits looking shorter than the others.

The Princess of Wales was forced to release a statement, admitting that it was she who edited the photo – in light of her penchant for ‘amateur photography’. 

It has led fans around the globe to more closely analyse photos from the royals, including several that have been in the mainstream media for years. 

The picture-perfect image of a smiling Kate, 42, surrounded by her three children was supposed to put an end to vicious conspiracy theories swirling online about her condition. But some news agencies have pulled the photo due to concerns it had been ‘manipulated’

Buckingham Palace released a poignant photo in 2020 of the Queen standing side-by-side with Prince Philip to mark the Duke of Edinburgh’s 99th birthday. But rumours began to swirl the snap had been photoshopped with people pointing to the shadow on the Queen’s hand

In December, the family’s Christmas portrait was hit with criticism from around the world as it was noted that Prince Louis’ fingers appeared to be missing. 

In 2020, Buckingham Palace released a poignant photo of Queen Elizabeth II standing next to the Duke of Edinburgh to mark Prince Philip’s 99th birthday.

Again, royal watchers seemed to focus on a shadow on the Queen’s hand, as claims on social media began to swirl that it also had been digitally altered. 

Last April, tech chief executive Christopher Bouzy sparked backlash for saying Kate’s ‘beautiful’ portrait of the Queen with her grandchildren at Balmoral had been photoshopped.

The image showed the late monarch posing with eight of her 12 great-grandchildren and was taken just weeks before her death by the Princess of Wales.

The late monarch appeared in her element with Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, James, Earl of Wessex, Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips, Prince Louis, Mia Tindall, Lucas Tindall and Savannah Phillips.

It is not the first time the Waleses’ photos have come under the spotlight. Most recently, in December, the family’s Christmas portrait was hit with criticism from around the world

This photograph was shared to mark what would have been the late monarch’s 97th birthday last year. (Pictured L-R : back row: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl Wessex. Second row: Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips and Prince Louis. Front row: Mia Tindall holding Lucas Tindall. The late Queen Elizabeth II and Savannah Phillips)

Some of the great-grandchildren were missing, including the children of Montecito-based Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the son of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank August and the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edo Mappeli Mozzi.

Calling on people to ‘stop criticising’ the snap, Mr Bouzy said: ‘Yes, they Photoshopped it, and so what? It isn’t easy to get the perfect photo with ten children. It appears they took multiple shots and then edited the photo to make it perfect. I would’ve done the same.’

In a later tweet about the snap, which was shared on the official social media accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, he wrote: ‘You can literally see where two sides of the sofa were spliced together, and there are pixels on the face that were not properly edited.

‘As I stated in my original tweet, I don’t see anything wrong with it. But to claim it’s not Photoshopped is false. It’s been edited.’