The Princess of Wales just acknowledged altering a photo of herself and her children for Mother’s Day, offering a personal apology for any misunderstanding following allegations of digital manipulation.

Something has definitely been amiss with the British royal family, especially since Kate Middleton completely vanished from the public eye in January. The princess’ alleged disappearance was fueled by new controversy surrounding a recent photo released by Kensington Palace. The scrutinized image went on to prompt reputable news agencies to retract it due to suspicions of manipulation, intensifying conspiracy theories.

On Sunday (March 10), the palace, where Prince William and Kate have resided since 2017, released a photo for Mother’s Day in the UK that featured the Princess of Wales seemingly sitting in a chair while smiling at the camera as her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis stood around her.

The photo was allegedly taken by “The Prince of Wales” at the family’s home in Windsor, according to the palace, as per the family’s official social media pages, including Instagram.

It didn’t take long before people voiced concerns regarding potential editing or AI-generated alterations to the picture.

Controversy surrounds the British royal family as the Princess of Wales admits to altering a Mother’s Day

Image credits: princeandprincessofwales

In fact, the controversial picture prompted news agencies globally, such as the Associated Press (AP), Getty Images, Reuters, and the Agence France-Presse (AFP), to withdraw the image from their archives due to concerns about photo manipulation.

The AP issued a “kill notification” for anyone using the photo, writing in an alert to journalists that after “closer inspection, it appear[ed] that the source [had] manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent,” as per an X post (formerly known as Twitter), shared by TV NEWS Royal Editor Chris Ship.

A kill notification is a term used in journalism to indicate the withdrawal or cancellation of a news item or media content, often due to concerns regarding accuracy, ethics, or legal issues.

Moreover, an AP spokesperson released a statement to The Telegraph, saying: “The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

Others have also noted inconsistencies in the alignment of the sweater pattern on Prince Louis’ shoulder, as well as a jagged white line in the background near his knee, People reported.

“No comment from Kensington Palace tonight after at least 3 international picture agencies refuse to distribute this morning’s photo of Kate and her children,” Chris wrote on X.

No comment from Kensington Palace tonight after at least 3 international pictures agencies refuse to distribute this morning’s photo of Kate and her children. Some of them (@AP ) have claimed “the source [the palace] has manipulated the image”. pic.twitter.com/ppOwDtPr9P

— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) March 10, 2024

The controversy surrounding the Mother’s Day photo coincides with inquiries into Princess Kate’s withdrawal from public view following her scheduled abdominal surgery due to an undisclosed medical condition in January.

The 42-year-old mother-of-three was subsequently hospitalized at The London Clinic, which resulted in the postponement of several of her public engagements.

Royal commentator Peter Hunt told Metro: “This is damaging for the royals.

“They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate.

“Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.”

The uproar over the Mother’s Day photo aligns with scrutiny over Princess Kate’s absence since January due to undisclosed medical issues

Image credits: princeandprincessofwales

For Daniela Relph, a royal correspondent for the BBC, the palace’s bid to hush speculation about Kate’s wellbeing with the doctored photo has backfired.

She said that the “overzealous editing of the picture to get it ready for publication has actually cast doubt on its authenticity.”

Daniela continued: “The implication here is not that the entire photo is a fake or that the Princess of Wales is more unwell than she appears in the image.

“That seems unlikely and would be a very high-risk strategy from the Kensington Palace team.”

Upon calling Kensington Palace’s press office to inquire about the picture, Bored Panda was redirected to an email address.

Image credits: Emily Miller

On Monday (March 11), in a rare personal post on X, signed “C” to denote it was from Catherine (Kate), the princess admitted: “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. C”

Meanwhile, a palace source told The Mirror: “The Princess has shared a statement on social media.

“This was an amateur family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales.

“Their Royal Highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day.

“The Princess made minor adjustments as she shared in her statement on social media. The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”

“The plot thickens,” a reader commented

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