The Princess of Wales has been left ‘shell-shocked’ by the furore surrounding her Mother’s Day picture.
Several well-placed royal sources have told the Mail that Kate and her team have found the public fallout over the ‘edited’ photograph taken by Prince William of her with their children deeply ‘upsetting’.
One said that while they acknowledged a mistake had been made, many felt it was time to ‘move on’ and let the princess focus on her recovery from stomach surgery and her children.
They said: ‘Everyone, including the princess, is a bit shocked by what has happened.
‘A mistake was made, but she has put her hand up and apologized. It has been very upsetting all around.
Kate’s Mother’s Day photograph taken by the Prince of Wales, which she has since admitted to editing
“But many people feel it’s time to acknowledge that the mistake was made in good faith, like her apology, and move on.”
Furore erupted after six of the biggest picture agencies in the world were this week forced to ‘kill’ the photo – which was taken at Adelaide Cottage, Wales’ Windsor home on Friday afternoon – over fears it had been digitally ‘manipulated’.
It is against industry regulation to distribute anything that may have been significantly altered from the original image.
William and Kate often release a personal tribute on Mother’s Day, but it was also hoped that a new photo of the princess – the first official one since Christmas Day – would put to bed vicious social media rumors about her condition.
In recent weeks, internet trolls have spread a series of outrageous platitudes about her welfare, which have now become the subject of mainstream speculation, even on the BBC.
Kensington Palace has not backed down from its initial announcement in January that the future queen had undergone what has only been described as ‘scheduled abdominal surgery’ and while she was recovering well, it was unlikely she was able to resume official duties until after Easter.
However, their decision not to offer any significant update has prompted trolls and critics of the royal family to farm out conspiracy theories on social media.
While the new photograph, which was first posted by Palace on their own social platforms before being distributed to picture agencies, was initially widely welcomed, amateurs on the internet began to notice a number of inconsistencies that suggested someone might have tried to change it before publication.
These included the placement of Princess Charlotte’s wrist and sleeve and Prince Louis’ fingers.
As these developments began to be reported by news websites, image agencies including AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images launched their own investigations.
On Sunday night, several were forced to issue notices to retract the image, amid fears it had been manipulated ‘by the source’.
As the row grew overnight, the princess personally took to social media on Monday morning with an unprecedented mea culpa, writing: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.
‘I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone who celebrated had a very happy Mother’s Day. C’.
While her clearly genuine apology has mollified some, critics claim the debacle has damaged the palace’s reputation for honesty.
But it is clear that many in the royal household and outside are now circling their wagons around the princess.
Multiple sources have told the Mail that although she has no personal presence on social media, Kate has inevitably become aware of some of what has been said in recent weeks and has understandably found it disturbing.
She is understood to be ‘disappointed’ with what the result is after an attempt to ‘just put a nice picture out of her children’.
But she now wants to focus on ‘what is important in her life – her children – and her recovery’.
Another source was reported to have said that she just wanted the picture to be ‘perfect’ for her children, who she is so proud of, knowing that the picture would be so publicly scrutinised.
A third supporter said so
Mail: ‘It was a mistake, although I will say that retouching or editing images is very common in the news industry as well as at home.
“This is not to deny what has happened. There will be lessons learned. But it’s gotten a little out of control from a social media perspective, and now it’s time to draw a line under it.
‘The amount of pressure and scrutiny that poor woman is under right now, she just wanted to do what was best for her children.
“This really won’t help her recovery.”
While some have called for ‘heads to roll’ at the palace, an insider told the Mail ‘that would never happen’.
The prince and princess are very loyal to their staff and would never, ever hang one of them out to dry. It’s just not their style, they said.
‘The princess would also have wanted to tell the truth, which was the most important thing, and she did.’
In a bizarre twist yesterday, the New York Post reported that people close to Meghan apparently waded into the furore.
They quoted the unnamed source as saying: “This is not a mistake Meghan would ever make” and that the incident was an example of double standards when it came to the media’s treatment of the Duchess of Sussex.
“If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same problem, they would have been wiped out,” the source said.
“The same rules do not apply to both couples. This is not a mistake that Meghan would ever make… she has a keen eye and keen eye for detail.’