Kate Middleton Breaks Silence on Edited Family Photo Controversy
Kate Middleton is setting the record straight.
After agencies including the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse pulled the photo Kensington Palace shared of the Princess of Wales on March 10, Kate is addressing the claims the photo was doctored.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she tweeted on March 11. "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."
The original photo shared to her and Prince William's official social media accounts and featured Kate with their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, in honor of Mother's Day in the U.K. It was also the first official picture of the Princess shared since she underwent planned abdominal surgery in January.
Hours later, however, agencies pulled it from their databases and issued "kill notices," or advisories to editors and clients to remove or not use a picture.
"The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace," the news wire said in a statement to NBC News. "The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand."
E! News reached out to Kensington Palace for comment but did not hear back.
Other than being seen riding in a car alongside her mother Carole Middleton on March 4, the image of Kate marked the first of the royal that was shared since she, William and their children attended the royal family's public Christmas walk in December 2023. It was just weeks later that she underwent her surgery in a private hospital in London.
And though the 42-year-old has remained largely out of the public eye in the time since, Kensington Palace has shared she is healing well from her surgery and remains that her continued convalescence keeps with the timeline originally shared.
In January, the Palace said Kate is "unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter" per medical advice. Amid the speculation about her, a spokesperson for the princess told E! News on Feb. 29, "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands."
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Kensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery and was set to remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days.
"Based on the current medical advice," the Palace said, "she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter."
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