Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, has apologized after an image she shared on one of the official royal family’s social media accounts on Sunday was removed from photo agencies for being “manipulated.”
The royal family member has taken a break from royal duties since undergoing an abdominal surgery in January. Despite being announced by the palace, Kate’s absence has sparked a number of conspiracy theories.
An unofficial photo of the duchess in a car with her mother made headlines last week. Now, Middleton released a photo of herself with her children in honor of Mother’s Day in the U.K., which was on March 10.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” the image caption said. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
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The photo showed a smiling Catherine posing with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. But shortly after it was released, the Associated Press and other photo agencies issued a “kill notification” after noticing the image had been edited. Part of Princess Charlotte’s arm appeared to be missing in the photo.
Followers also noticed that Kate was not wearing her wedding rings on her left hand, among other minor inconsistencies, such as the pattern on Prince Louis’ sweater and a white line in the background.
“AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards,” the agency wrote. “The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
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The online reaction was so extreme that the duchess issued a statement saying she had edited the image.
At around 10:30 a.m. U.K. time on Monday, Kate shared on X, “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
The Princess of Wales is taking time off from royal duties until Easter.