I was instantly struck by the fact that the version of the image you used seems to have been altered from the version I am used to seeing, and it leaves me in a quandary.

The version I am familiar with has sharper detail and clearly shows burnt flesh to the front of Kim’s shoulders and flanks, with those parts of her injuries making the picture all the more shocking when it was first circulated. Those frontal burns appear to be missing in the version you have used.

Whether that change is a result of multiple recopying through picture libraries and the internet, or due to deliberate editing at some stage in the image file’s history, makes for an interesting juxtaposition against the point of your article regarding suppression and censorship.

Regarding images of the late Princess of Wales, and the effect of publishing them upon her sons; I am sure that the Palace and Royal Family have been privy to such pictures long before they became public domain, and probably to far more graphic and clear images than any allowed into circulation. Remember that in the early stages of investigation, any photos known to exist would have been held as evidence by the investigative forces. Whether the young princes would have been shown them in the immediately post-mortem period is unlikely, but they may have been introduced to such images when deemed old enough to endure them.

As with many in this country, I was one who felt a deep sense of loss by Princess Diana’s death, and along with many, still feel the whole story has not been revealed to us. Yet, I agree, displaying such images for no other purpose than viewing ratings is senseless and insensitive. However, if their showing is in the context of bringing out the truth and a national feeling of closure to the incident, then it should go ahead.