Spring brought both sunshine and scrutiny to the British royals in March 2024 — and few moments captured the contrast better than Princess Beatrice and Zara Tindall’s cheerful day out at the Cheltenham Festival, which unfolded against the backdrop of a royal photo controversy still dominating headlines.
On March 14, Beatrice and Zara, both granddaughters of Queen Elizabeth II, were spotted enjoying the third day of the world-famous horse racing event in Gloucestershire, joined by their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Mike Tindall. The foursome laughed together in the stands and appeared at ease, exchanging smiles and chatting between races during “St. Patrick’s Thursday,” a highlight of the four-day festival.
Though it looked like a lighthearted double date, Zara was officially on duty. The accomplished equestrian, 42, serves on Cheltenham’s Racecourse Committee and was attending for the third consecutive day. Her mother, Princess Anne — an Olympic equestrian herself — was also present, returning for a second day of races. The festival is a long-standing royal favorite, drawing members of the family every year; this time, Queen Camilla, Princess Eugenie, and her husband Jack Brooksbank had attended the day before.
Beatrice, 35, exuded spring elegance in a tailored wool coat and chic headband, while Zara opted for country sophistication, pairing a fitted coat with heeled boots and her signature easy charm. Their husbands matched the tone in smart tweed jackets, blending seamlessly into Cheltenham’s refined yet relaxed atmosphere.
Yet even amid the laughter, the family outing couldn’t escape the shadow of the royal world’s latest storm: the Mother’s Day photo controversy surrounding the Princess of Wales. Just days earlier, Kate Middleton had issued a rare public apology after a family portrait — meant to mark her recovery from abdominal surgery — was pulled by major global photo agencies for signs of manipulation.
In the wake of the incident, Sky News launched a metadata analysis revealing the image had been saved twice in Adobe Photoshop, sparking a wave of online speculation. “Now some people are asking if it’s all generated by AI or a Photoshop of a photo taken,” said PR expert Mark Borkowski, adding, “It’s not something you’d want the royal brand to be aligned with.”
However, palace sources struck a calmer note. “This is a bump in the road, not an earthquake,” one insider told People. “Kate has apologized and graciously so. She’s done something that 99% of us do — only she lives under a microscope.”
Still, the ripple effect grew when another set of photos — showing Kate and Prince William driving from Windsor Castle the following Monday — came under scrutiny online. Some users questioned whether the images had been altered because of inconsistencies in the brickwork visible through the car windows. The agency behind them, Goff Photos, firmly denied any manipulation, explaining that the shots had only been cropped and lightened for publication. “Car shots are unpredictable at the best of times,” photographer Jim Bennett told People. “We don’t change our photos in Photoshop other than adjusting the light levels if necessary.”
Against this backdrop of online speculation and media frenzy, the scenes from Cheltenham — royal cousins laughing in the crisp March air — offered a glimpse of normalcy, camaraderie, and continuity. For Beatrice and Zara, it was a reminder that the monarchy’s younger generation, though often caught in the crosswinds of public fascination, still finds time for simple pleasures: family, friendship, and a good day at the races.
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