Kate Middleton apologizes for manipulated Mother’s Day photo and admits she edited it herself

Kate Middleton has been forced to apologize on social media in response to the commotion caused by a photo published by the Kensington Palace. On Sunday, the Princess of Wales posted a photo of herself surrounded by her three children to mark Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom. But it was later removed by leading news agencies, citing concerns that the image had been digitally manipulated.

On Monday, the Kensington Palace X account published the following message from Middleton: “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.”

Kensington Palace’s botched communications strategy on Sunday led to a boomerang effect that only further fueled conspiracy theories surrounding the whereabouts and health of Kate Middleton. The image shared on Mother’s Day was an effort to quiet speculation about her health, which has been circulating since January 17 when she disappeared from the public eye after undergoing “planned abdominal surgery.”

Millions of people began to scrutinize the photo down to the smallest detail, and pointed out obvious Photoshop manipulations. At the end of the day, the most important media agencies in the world — Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Getty — pulled the image from their servers, citing concerns that the photo had been altered.

At least one detail — the end of the right cuff of little Charlotte’s cardigan — is evidence that the photo has been manipulated. The girl’s wrist appears displaced, while part of the sleeve is missing.

Some social media users also pointed out that Prince Louis’s left hand appeared blurry, that the zipper on Middleton’s jacket was not aligned, and that she was not wearing her wedding ring — although this did not necessarily mean that the photo had been edited.

The Princess of Wales is fond of photography and for many years has been the one responsible for taking photos of her family, which she then distributes to the press or posts on social media. In this case, Kensington Palace said the image was taken by Prince William. It is now under pressure to explain the photo, which was made public early Sunday.

News organizations follow strict guidelines on the use of manipulated photos, and did not wish to take responsibility for an image they suspected of being digitally manipulated.

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