The Princess of Wales has admitted that she edited the Mother’s Day portrait that was released by Kensington Palace yesterday and apologised ‘for any confusion’ that the family photograph has caused.
The Palace had come under mounting pressure to reveal the truth behind the photo after the world’s top picture agencies ‘killed’ the image over claims it had been digitally manipulated.
The photo, taken by Prince William last week in Windsor, was the first official picture released of Kate since she underwent ‘planned abdominal surgery’ in January.
A statement from the Princess of Wales said: ‘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’
A source stressed that this was ‘an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales’, UK Dailymail reports.
They said the couple wanted to offer an ‘informal’ picture of the family together for Mother’s Day and the Princess made ‘minor adjustments’, as she has shared in her statement on social media. An aide added: ‘The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.’
It comes after the Press Association this morning joined five other top picture agencies in withdrawing the photo.
The UK’s national news agency said it had been ‘seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace’ since it was released over claims it was digitally altered.
The image of Kate and her children, said by the palace to have been taken by Prince William, was posted on social media.
Without an official response from the palace, the confusion around the image had fuelled online conspiracy theories about Kate which have swirled on the internet since her abdominal surgery.
Ahead of Princess of Wales Kate making her statement, royal commentator Peter Hunt said: ‘This is damaging for the royals. They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate.
‘Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.’
The picture shows Kate sitting in a chair with her arms around Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are on either side of her, with Prince George standing behind, as all four smile at the camera.
But there was speculation that edits had been made to the left sleeve of Princess Charlotte’s cardigan, and other areas of the picture also raised concerns about possible manipulation.
In the social media post, Kate thanked the public ‘for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months’.
The photo of the princess is the first released since she was admitted to the London Clinic, the private hospital where the King underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate, for a planned operation on January 16.
Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26, the 11th day of Kate’s stay.
She was also visited by her husband, William.
Kate left the hospital on January 29, almost two weeks later, and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
Details of the princess’s condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
The 42-year-old future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter, and William, 41, temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for her and their children as she recovered.
He returned to royal duties in February and is expected to carry out an engagement linked to his Earthshot environmental prize on Monday, as well as accompanying the Queen at events to mark Commonwealth Day.
Earlier this month the Army was forced into an embarrassing about-turn after suggesting Kate would attend Trooping the Colour on June 8.
Tickets were being sold for the event, with Kate expected to attend in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards, the regiment which is trooping its colour this year.
However, it is understood the Army did not seek approval from Kensington Palace before publishing the page, and the website was subsequently updated to remove the reference to her.