Many were already concerned about how Kate Middleton hasn't been seen in public since December 2023. The Mother's Day photo of Kate and her kids and the Princess of Wales' subsequent apology have done little to decrease suspicion. On Sunday, March 10, which was Mother's Day in the United Kingdom, a photo of Kate with her three children was shared. Prince William reportedly took the photo, but people quickly noticed that something seemed off. News agencies then removed the photo because it had been edited.
Following the controversy, Kate took to X to apologize.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," Kate wrote on X.
"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused," she continued. "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day."
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People on X were not exactly buying the explanation though.
"I am struggling to believe that the most famous royal family in the world – and the woman who would be queen – fiddled around with photoshop and put out a family pic (designed to quash rumours about her whereabouts) without anyone in the ranks inspecting it," one person responded.
"Someone in your press office/PR department needs a very constructive 1-2-1 or end of year review," another person commented on X. "This has, in absolutely no way whatsoever, made this bizarre situation any better."
Those who commented on the image that was shared via Instagram were equally skeptical and concerned.
"Nothing says 'let's put the conspiracy theories to rest' quite like a very badly photoshopped/ai generated photo " one Instagram user commented, referencing the conspiracy theories that have emerged since Kate has not been seen in public in months.
And other comments on the same post appeared to prove the statement correct.
"I think you need to remove this and tell the people where kate is," one person wrote.
The photo was shared by Kensington Palace and initially published by the Associated Press, as well as other outlets. However, AP, Getty, Shutterstock, and Reuters, along with other news and photo agencies, recalled the photo on Sunday night.
In a notice from AP about why the photo was pulled, the outlet said the photo "appeared to have been manipulated."
A spokesperson for AP told The Telegraph that "the photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”
AP explained in an article that the outlet "does not use altered or digitally manipulated images."
Though some "minor" editing might be accepted it should "maintain the authentic nature of the photograph," the image of Kate and her children was "killed" (recalled) for not adhering to these editorial standards.
