Princess Kate has finally resurfaced after undergoing abdominal surgery earlier this year, only to start a controversy over editing a family photo.
Over the weekend, she and her husband Prince William released a photo of Kate posing with their three children, in honor of UK Mother's Day on Sunday.
The post included this message: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day."
The 42-year-old Princess of Wales had not been seen in public since undergoing surgery in January, leading many to wonder what the surgery addressed. She's not expected to return to public duties until after Easter.
The palace did not share details about the nature of the princess' abdoinal surgery but stressed that it was not cancer-related -- which of course led to speculation about what exactly ails the seemingly vibrant and healthy young woman. Women's Health Magazine reported that 'abdominal surgery is a broad term used to describe a surgical procedure that involves opening the abdominal cavity, according to The University of Tennessee Medical Center. It usually involves treating diseases, conditions, or injuries to the stomach and bowels, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, bile ducts, or surrounding soft tissues, the organization says.'
While the photo was meant as a health update and reassurance to the public that the princess was on the mend, the internet went wild after news agencies around the world pulled the photo shortly after it was released over concerns about the image.
Agencies including Getty Images, Agence France-Presse, Reuters and Associated Press withdrew the photo, saying they believed it had been "manipulated." The agencies all have editorial policies around publishing images that have been overly edited.
The Daily Mail consulted professional photographers who identified 16 possible "Photoshop fails" in the image, the most glaring being an "empty space" where Princess Charlotte's sleeve should be by her left hand. Other issues identified by the outlet include a misaligned zipper on Kate's sweater, a disruption in the pattern on Prince Louis' sweater, and wonky distortion along the edge of a stone ledge.
The speculation was finally put to rest on Monday, when the Princess of Wales herself admitted that she edited the photo that was released by Kensington Palace.
"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," Kate said in a statement posted to X. "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day."
The image remains posted on Kensington Palace's official social media channels.
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Although the image was meant to put minds at rest about Kate's whereabouts over the past two months, it seemingly has only added fuel to the fire, according to royal commentators like Peter Hunt.
"This is damaging for the royals. They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate," Hunt told Daily Mail. "Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update."
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