Kate Middleton publicly apologizes for edited photo fiasco - but fans aren't convinced

Kate Middleton caused a stir on social media this weekend, as the Palace released the ‘first photo’ of the Princess since her abdominal surgery two months ago. However, the cute photo of Catherine and her three children on Mother’s Day didn’t go down as well as the Palace would have hoped, as many fans claimed it was heavily edited. This was followed by picture agencies issuing a ‘kill notice’ on the snap over doubts it had been ‘manipulated’. Now, she’s issued an apology on social media.

After announcing Kate Middleton‘s ‘planned abdominal surgery’ in January, the Palace explained the 42-year-old would be taking a step back from royal duties until after Easter. Despite this, speculations on the Princess’ whereabouts were going wild online, and now a photo that was likely meant to end all these may have made things worse, forcing the Princess to publicly apologize.

Kate Middleton ‘edited photo’ issued ‘kill notice’ from publishers

In the photo released on Mother’s Day, Kate could be seen sitting and smiling while her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Louis stood around her smiling. Her husband, Prince William, and her wedding ring were nowhere to be seen. Surprisingly though, they were one of the ‘least controversial’ takeaways from the image.

As soon as the image was posted to socials, people were claiming ‘photoshop’ on the image, noticing inconsistencies in the alignment in Catherine and Charlotte’s hands.

Things went even further when huge picture agencies issued a ‘kill notice’ over the image, claiming that “the source had manipulated the image.”

“At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP notice said. They told Sky News that the photo shows an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”.

In the caption of the post, posted on both Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, they wrote: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.”

Underneath they used a camera emoji, with “The Prince of Wales 2024,” implying that it was Prince William behind the camera.

GRV Media and Celebrity Tidbit have contacted Kensington Palace and representatives of Kate Middleton for comment.

Princess Catherine issues apology for ‘photo editing’

In a rare occurrence, after all the ‘backlash’ over the photo, this morning (March 11) it appears Prince William has issued an apology to the Kensington Royal X account. But it’s caused more confusion as it’s signed ‘C’, from Catherine, so they’re not sure who took the photo and who edited it.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the 41-year-old began. “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. C.”

Many aren’t convinced by the apology, finding it hard to believe the Princess sat down and edited it herself. However, others are looking past the commotion, and wishing her a speedy recovery.

“How is it getting worse??” one questioned of the situation.

“You have to admire the commitment to the terrible PR bit here,” wrote another.

However, others appreciated the apology, as one penned: “No need at all for apologies. Hope you had a lovely day yourself with the children. Get well soon!”

A fourth wrote: “It was a beautiful photo and all the hub-bub about it is silly! I hope you had a wonderful Mother’s day!”