Why Kate Middleton’s first photo since surgery was ‘killed’ by news agencies

An official photograph featuring Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and her three children had been at the centre of a controversy with several international photo agencies dropping it over concerns of “digital manipulation” on Sunday (March 10). Theories that the photo may have been digitally altered also sparked concerns about the princes of Wales’ health who recently underwent an abdominal surgery and had been absent from public view for some time now.

Kate, however, calmed nerves of fans with a social media post on Monday (March 11) in which she said inconsistencies found in the photo may be a result of her attempts to edit it and apologised for the confusion.

Here’s what the row was all about:

What sparked the row?

Kensington Palace on the occasion of Mother’s Day on Sunday released a photograph showing Kate with her three children – princes George (10), and Louis (five), and Princess Charlotte (eight).

“A new picture of the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis was posted on our social media channels today to mark Mother’s Day,” the palace said.

The palace said the photograph was taken by Prince William at Windsor Castle earlier in the week.

In her message accompanying the photo on Instagram, Kate wrote: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day."

The photograph was the first of Kate since her abdominal surgery in January.

Why the photo was ‘killed’ by news agencies?

While the photo captured a happy frame of the mother with her children, hours later, prominent news agencies including Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) asked their subscribers to "kill" it from their systems and archives over concerns it was "manipulated" by "the source".

The agencies, which have strict rules on digital manipulation of images, said they had spotted a number of inconsistencies in the photograph, including the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand.

AFP said it had "come to light" that the image of the "Princess of Wales and her kids had been altered" and was therefore removed from its systems.

“The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that 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," an AP statement read.

Reuters said it withdrew the picture following a "post-publication review" with a spokesperson saying the agency is "reviewing the matter".

'Engagement ring missing'

Social media users said Kate’s engagement ring – a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14 diamonds – was also missing in the photo, which is unusual for the royals.

Several social media users also accused Kensington Palace of using Artificial Intelligence-generated photographs of the princess of Wales.

“Why did you guys post this weird photoshopped picture,” said an user on X.

“You can tell this is an ai image from the boy on the far left. The boys fingers are all sorts of twisted, for one he is missing half of his pointer finger. I’m sure the rest of you can find more flaws in this AI image,” said another user.

Kate apologises for ‘confusion’

In a post on Monday, Kate apologised for creating confusion over the family photo, stating the inconsistences could have been caused by her attempts to edit it.

“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,” the message posted by The Prince and Princess of Wales handle on X said.

Royal experts have indicated that editing of photographs after they have been taken for professional purposes is a common practice. Therefore, it is believed Kensington Palace may have only been trying to improve the photograph.

The princess of wales had been on official leave since her abdominal surgery in January and had not been seen in public for weeks, triggering social media over her condition.

Kensington Palace, the office for the Prince and Princess of Wales William and Kate, have repeatedly said that the 42-year-old Royal is doing well and that health matters are private. She underwent surgery on January 16.

The latest controversy added fuel to social media speculation over Kate’s health as details of her medical condition have not been released by the palace except to say it is not cancer related. She is not expected to return to official royal duties until after Easter next month as she recuperates.