Why *did* the Princess of Wales release a new portrait the day before Trooping?

In this week’s Gossip with Celebitchy podcast, I asked CB a question which has been bugging me for days. Two Fridays ago, the Princess of Wales released a statement in which she spoke about how she has good days and bad days but she’s doing a bit better and she would attend Trooping the Colour the next day. It was basically a long-awaited health status update with an announcement that she would appear at Trooping, which had been the big conversation in the weeks beforehand. My question was: why did Kate and Kensington Palace release the Matt Porteous photo of Kate standing against a tree? The whole point was that Kate would appear at Trooping, so we would see her in public for the first time in nearly six full months. Why release the photo, and even more specifically, why release a photo which had been so obviously edited? It was bizarre across the board. I could understand releasing a “proof of life” photo if you were announcing that you still weren’t ready to do public events, but it felt like the statement plus the photo were done to center Kate and to make Trooping all about her. Anyway, People Magazine still seems stuck on the photo too. They ran this exclusive about it:

Kate Middleton acknowledged that she is not yet “out of the woods” in her cancer treatment, but it’s there she finds her strength. In a personal message released on June 14, the Princess of Wales, 42, shared her first health update since announcing her cancer diagnosis accompanied by a new photo. The solo snap by photographer Matt Porteous was taken in Windsor, where she lives with Prince William and their three children, showing Kate dressed casually in jeans and a blazer with her arms folded as she poses outdoors against a tree.

A proponent of “forest bathing,” the Japanese practice of immersing oneself in nature to recharge, Princess Kate has long advocated for the benefits of the outdoors for both children and adults. “I really feel that nature and being interactive outdoors has huge benefits on our physical and mental well-being,” she said in 2019.

Royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE in this week’s cover story, “There she is in nature, which has fortified her, and looking upward in a sign of real hope and encouragement for everybody.”

Adds Ailsa Anderson, a former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, “She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids. Even though she has a huge amount of support from others, it is a journey you have to do on your own. [The photo] was her on her own; it was reflective.”

[From People]

“She could have posted an image of her with William or the kids.” Yeah, she could have. Why didn’t she? She could have posted real, authentic, non-edited and non-manipulated photos at any point in the previous six months to let her supporters know that she’s alright. Why didn’t she? The fact that the palace was releasing a stream of questionable photos – if not blatantly manipulated photos and media – is still a huge question and criticism for Kensington Palace to deal with.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Matt Porteous/Kensington Palace.