Palace must share ‘unedited’ version of Princess Kate’s pic NOW or conspiracies will run rampant, says Piers Morgan
PIERS Morgan has called on Kensington Palace to now release the unedited photo of Princess Kate and her kids.
Last night, royal fans were whipped into a frenzy after spotting at least four “photoshop fails” in the picture shared on Mother’s Day.
And today, the Princess of Wales admitted she had “experimented with editing” the sweet family picture.
But – as conspiracy theories run rampant online – Piers Morgan has called on the royals to share the unedited version now.
The Princess of Wales has now apologised for any “confusion” with the edited photograph.
“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”
The photo showed Kate, 42, sitting on a chair and smiling while surrounded by Prince George, 10 Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, with beaming smiles.
Fans questioned why Kate wasn’t wearing her wedding ring and noticed that her other hand was blurry.
Others said Charlotte’s cardigan sleeve seemed to disappear and her skirt was fuzzy.
The photo was published on the royal couple’s official social media pages on Sunday before issuing it to select press agencies for syndication, as is typical for images distributed by the royals.
Piers posted on X, formerly Twitter before Kate’s apology, saying: “The Palace should release the unedited photo of Kate & the kids asap. If it’s just a small bit of harmless retouching gone wrong, nobody will care.
“If they don’t release the original pic, the conspiracy theories they were trying to kill, will get way worse…”
After the apology, he doubled down on the Palace releasing the original image.
He posted: “OK, but the only way to quell the conspiracy theories is to release the original pic…”
He also quoted the apology post on X and said: “Can we see the original?”
Conspiracy rumours had circulated online following Kate’s abdominal surgery.
Kate has not been seen at any royal events since Christmas Day, with her absence leading to speculation about her health and whereabouts.
Picture agencies issued ‘kill notices’ on Sunday night after an online frenzy following royal fans finding the photo had been “manipulated”.
The photograph marks the first time the princess been seen since her surgery.
On Sunday night, Piers posted the image on X with the caption: “Is it a fake photo?”
He also posted about AP’s kill notice: “If, as this astounding AP kill notice claims, the Palace manipulated that Kate photo to quash all the wild conspiracy theories about her, then they’ll have just made things 100x worse.”
Picture agency removal orders were sent after “manipulation” on the image was discovered.
AP’s order said the reason for killing the story was: “At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image.”
The order then directs those who have used the photo to remove it from all platforms, including social.
Agence France-Press ordered the “mandatory kill” due to an “editorial issue” and directed that the image may no longer be used.
The PA news agency said it would be withdrawing the image from its picture service.
A spokesperson for the UK’s national news agency said: “Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday.
“We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace.
In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service.”
Kate captioned the snap: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.
“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C”
The Sun’s Royal Photographer Arthur Edwards has blasted the “spoiling” of the photograph by editing.
He said: “To me it wasn’t about the sleeve, it’s about the fact that Catherine looked so good and the smiles on the children.
“It’s just a lovely family photograph. I’d have been proud to take that photograph and I’m sorry it’s been spoiled by this stupid photo editing. It’s not even been done properly.
“My view is the agencies in the US are so fussy we can’t even take the red eye out, we mustn’t touch it.
“There rules are their rules. I’m so pleased the picture is still being run because it shows Catherine looks so well.”
The original X post now has a warning on it that reads: “Major news agencies, including the Associated Press, Getty Images, and Reuters, note inconsistencies that suggest digital alteration by Kensington Palace.”
The “manipulated” image comes as rumours about Kate’s health were sparked after William missed a memorial service last week.
He had been expected to perform a reading, but pulled out due to a “personal matter”.
Kate had only been spotted once since her surgery, in the passenger seat of a black Audi as mum Carole, 69, drove her near Windsor Castle.
She was wearing sunglasses and appeared to be smiling slightly.
Timeline of Royal health battles
HERE is a date-by-date rundown of the health battles to have struck the Royals this year:
JANUARY 16: Kate is admitted to the London Clinic for abdominal surgery.
JAN 17: It is announced that the King is to have treatment for a benign enlarged prostate.
JAN 18: William spends time at Kate’s bedside.
JAN 19: The King flies back from Scotland with the Queen.
JAN 21: It is announced Sarah, Duchess of York, has malignant melanoma, a skin cancer.
JAN 23: Kate’s hospital stay passes one week. JAN 26: The King is admitted to the London Clinic for treatment.
JAN 29: The King is discharged from hospital. Kate leaves the same day.
JAN 31: Queen Camilla announces that the King is “getting on, doing his best”.
FEBRUARY 5: Buckingham Palace announces the King has cancer, but not of the prostate, and will not carry out public-facing duties.
FEB 18: The King appears in good spirits as he attends a Sunday church service in the grounds of Sandringham.
FEB 23: The King filmed crying and chuckling while opening some of the 7,000 cards from well-wishers.
FEB 27: Prince William pulls out of service last-minute due to ‘personal matter’, sparking wave of unfounded conspiracy theories about Kate’s health.
MARCH 4: Kate Middleton pictured in the car with mum Carole on the Windsor estate