Kate Middleton apologizes for 'confusion' around edited family photo
Princess Kate Middleton is apologizing Monday after admitting that an image of her and her children shared yesterday on official palace social media accounts to celebrate Mother's Day in the United Kingdom was edited.
"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," she wrote on X. "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day."
The image showed Middleton with her children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. As of Monday morning, it remains up on the The Prince and Princess of Wales X account.
"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day," the caption read, signed with a "C" for Catherine, Princess of Wales.
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The Associated Press and other news agencies began pulling the image from their websites over concerns that it was "manipulated."
"AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared 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," the news agency said.
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In addition to the AP's comment on the photo manipulation, viewers noted that the 42-year-old was not wearing her wedding ring in the photo.
Middleton also has been accused of Photoshop mishaps with her family's 2023 Christmas card, which also featured her children and Prince William. In that image, Louis appears to be missing a finger.
Middleton has largely remained out of the public eye since December, and is recovering from abdominal surgery in January. On Jan. 17, the palace first announced Middleton had been hospitalized.
"Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to The London Clinic yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery," a statement said.
Fox News' Janelle Ash, Elizabeth Stanton, Tracy Wright and Caroline Thayer contributed to this report.