King Charles is at the center of a political storm after House Democrats released a cropped version of an old photograph that cuts him out of a frame with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Bill Gates.
The original photo, taken by Getty Images photographer Dominic Lipinski at a 2018 malaria summit in London, clearly included him with Andrew and Gates.
Instead of using the pristine photo in the latest batch of photos released by the US House Oversight Committee, Democrats opted for a version with Charles cropped out.
The move sparked confusion online, with critics questioning the editorial choice, although officials stressed there is no suggestion of wrongdoing by those shown in the newly released images.
The cropped image came as part of 19 photographs recently shared from the estate of late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a controversial set that also includes images of high-profile figures such as Donald Trump and Bill Clinton.
In a striking photo covered by major outlets, Trump appears with several unidentified women, his face emblazoned on a bowl of news condoms that have grabbed headlines as the committee pushes for public transparency.
Members of the oversight panel say their collection of tens of thousands of photos from Epstein’s estate is being released to shed light on the financier’s ties to powerful people.
However, Republicans claim 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 force the Justice Department to release all relevant records.
