The Princess of Wales has admitted she edited the Mother’s Day portrait released by Kensington Palace yesterday and apologized ‘for any confusion’ the family photo caused.
The palace had come under increasing pressure to reveal the truth behind the image after the world’s leading image agencies ‘killed’ the image over claims it had been digitally manipulated.
The photo, taken by Prince William last week in Windsor, was the first official photo released of Kate since undergoing ‘scheduled abdominal surgery’ in January.
A statement from the Princess of Wales said: ‘Like many amateur photographers I occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion that the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone who celebrated had a very happy Mother’s Day. C’
A source stressed that this was ‘an amateur family photo taken by the Prince of Wales’.
They said the couple wanted to offer a ‘casual’ photo of the family together for Mother’s Day, and the princess made ‘minor adjustments’, which she has shared in her statement on social media. An aide added: ‘The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.’
This is happening after the Press Association joined five other top image agencies this morning to withdraw the photo.
Kensington Palace yesterday released the first photo of the Princess of Wales since the operation
The Princess of Wales has admitted she edited the Mother’s Day portrait and apologized “for any confusion” it caused
The PA news agency said it had withdrawn the photo of Kate from its image service today
Britain’s National News Agency said it had sought urgent clarification on the image from Kensington Palace since it was released amid claims it had been digitally altered.
But in a startling development this morning, PA revealed that they had now withdrawn the image ‘in the absence of that clarification’.
A spokesman for the PA said: ‘Like other news agencies, PA Media broadcast in good faith the handout photo which was provided in good faith by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children.
‘We became aware of concerns about the image and we had a report about it last night and made it clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace. In the absence of that clarification, we kill the image from our image service.’
The PA follows AP, Reuters, Getty Images, AFP and the EPA in retracting the photo — making them the sixth news or image agency to do so.
The photo of Kate and her children, said by the palace to have been taken by Prince William, was posted on social media.
The photograph was shared with media yesterday, but it was withdrawn by international image agencies later that day amid concerns that the image had been manipulated.
Kensington Palace has yet to comment on the concerns raised about the image and is under pressure to respond to questions about it.
Without an official response from the palace, the confusion surrounding the photo is likely to fuel online conspiracy theories about Kate that have been swirling around the internet since her stomach surgery.
Royal commentator Peter Hunt said: ‘This is damaging to the royals. They knew there would be intense interest in any photo 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.’
In the picture, Kate is seen sitting in a chair with her arms around Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are on either side of her, with Prince George standing behind, as all four smile for the camera.
But there was speculation that the left sleeve of Princess Charlotte’s cardigan had been edited, and other areas of the image also raised concerns about possible tampering.
In the social media post, Kate thanked the public ‘for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months’.
The picture of the princess is the first released since she was admitted to the London Clinic, the private hospital where the king was undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate, for a scheduled operation on January 16.
Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26, the 11th day of Kate’s stay.
She was also visited by her husband, William.
Kate left hospital on January 29, almost two weeks later, and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
Details of the princess’s condition have not been revealed, but Kensington Palace has previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wanted her personal medical information to remain private.
The 42-year-old queen-to-be was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk.
It looks like Charlotte’s hand was copied over from another image as there is an empty space where her sleeve should be
Kate’s zipper appears to be misaligned in the photo as the top of it is further to the left and appears significantly lighter than the rest of the zipper
Charlotte’s hair appears to end abruptly at her shoulder on her right side, although her hair on the left goes a few inches
The corner of Charlotte’s skirt was pointed out as another ‘editing error’ by social media pundits
Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter and William, 41, temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for her and their children as she recovers.
He returned to royal duties in February and is expected to perform an engagement related to his Earthshot environmental award on Monday, as well as accompanying the Queen at events to mark Commonwealth Day.
Earlier this month, the Army was forced into an embarrassing U-turn after suggesting Kate would take part in Trooping the Color on June 8.
Tickets went on sale for the event, where Kate is expected to attend in her role as colonel of the Irish Guards, the regiment which is trooping its colors this year.
However, it is understood that the Army did not seek approval from Kensington Palace before publishing the page, and the website was subsequently updated to remove the reference to her.