A ROYAL photographer who snapped the famous picture of Princess Kate after she bravely announced her cancer diagnosis said he was hounded by trolls.
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jim Bennett, who has spent years snapping the Firm, managed to pap the Princess of Wales as she left Windsor in a Land Rover with doting husband William.
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In the photo from March, Kate gazed out of her backseat window and appeared to have her hair tied back in a bun.
The mum-of-three was on her way to a private appointment in London while Wills was headed to a Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey later that day.
Shortly after the image was published by all newspapers, Jim was forced to confirm it had “not been doctored”.
Now speaking with The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson, he addressed online sleuths and conspiracy theorists who slandered his picture.
He said: “It was quite funny because I’d never been on that end of it before.
“I kept getting emails from these people saying ‘You’re a fraud. You’re a cheat. You’ve Photoshopped her into the picture. We’ve worked out the bricks in the wall’.”
Jim added on that day he was only out with the intention of snapping Wills and had no idea Kate would be next to him.
He explained the image was lightened in Photoshop to make it clearer – but that it was never changed.
He said: “My colleague and I were sent down to Windsor purely to get an early picture of William going to Westminster Abbey.
“We were struggling a little bit to be fair but as we were driving back we saw an outrider pull up.
“My colleague was driving, I was in the passenger seat, so I jumped out the car and literally as this car come round the corner I got the pictures.
“My colleague said ‘Have you got William?’ and I said ‘Yeah great, we’ve got William, fine’.
“So we disappear to start looking at the pictures and then we notice there’s somebody sitting next to him.
“So we lighten the picture a little bit in Photoshop and sure enough it’s Kate.
“We then alert the office to let them know that she may be going to Westminster Abbey, because nobody knew to the extent of how ill she was, and then we sent a picture to you [The Sun’s Royal Editor Matt Wilkinson] to confirm it.”
Following her shock cancer diagnosis, Kate took a step back from royal duties.
Amid ongoing treatment, the royal has only attended two public events since Christmas Day last year.
She glowed at Trooping the Colour in June as royal fans erupted into cheer upon her arrival.
And, the Princess was met with a standing ovation at the Wimbledon men’s final the following month.
She was however, last weekend spotted for the first time in over a month as she stepped out with her family for church at Crathie Church, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.
Kate beamed in the front passenger seat next to Wills, who also grinned behind the wheel of their Range Rover Defender.
The Princess donned a light brown outfit paired with a pheasant feather hat, while William opted for a sophisticated navy suit.