Kate Middleton has broken her silence about the Mother’s Day photograph scandal - saying she is the one who edited the image.
In a post shared to Instagram, the Princess of Wales wrote, ‘Like many amateur photographs, 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The Palace today was facing questions after the image, which shows Kate Middleton with George, Charlotte and Louis, was withdrawn by Reuters, AP, Getty and AFP. The picture, which was shared by the Prince and Princess of Wales yesterday, was said to have been taken by Prince William last week. However, eagle-eyed members of the public were quick to point out a number of ‘errors’ in the image which appeared to have been digitally manipulated.
Amongst them were Princess Charlotte’s blurry sleeve and distorted skirt - and the fact that the Princess of Wales wasn’t wearing her engagement or wedding ring. And while the image may still be up on the Palace's official Instagram page, it has now been withdrawn by a number of professional agencies.
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AFP wrote: ‘Mandatory kill. Due to an editorial issue this photo by the Prince of Wales has been withdrawn... and may no longer by used in any manner.
‘Please immediately remove it from all your online services, stop using it in any other fashion and delete it from your servers.’
And now a number of experts have said the decision could impact the public's trust in The Firm. Speaking to MailOnline, Royal commentator Peter Hunt said, ‘This is damaging for the royals…
‘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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Meanwhile another royal reporter Richard Palmer said the issue had been heightened into a real controversy, saying, ‘What should have been a way of dampening down the hysteria now threatens to add fuel to the fire.’
In January, it was announced Kate Middleton had been admitted to The London Clinic for scheduled abdominal surgery.
At the time, Kensington Palace said she would require ten to fourteen days to recover in hospital and would be unlikely to return to royal duties before Easter.
The photograph of the Princess of Wales with George, Charlotte and Louis was released yesterday
An official statement from the palace acknowledged the ‘interest’ this news will garner but asked for respect and privacy during what will no doubt be a challenging time for Kate's closest family.
In a statement, a spokesperson said, ‘The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.
She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.’
As such Kensington Palace said they would only provide ‘significant new information’ on her medical progress, to retain privacy for her medical information and her children's lives.
Public theorising reached fever-pitch last month with concern spiking as a result of Prince Williams’ notable absence from his godfather King Constantine’s memorial service in Windsor Castle.
A representative for Kate told US Weekly: ‘We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant.’ They added only that the ‘guidance stands.’
The somewhat formidable response followed speculation on social media that the Prince of Wales was conspicuously missing from Constantine’s service because of the Princess’ ongoing health issues. A brief update followed by a palace aide at an event at Windsor Castle, who declared that ‘The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well.’ However the scandal of the image will do little to reassure fans.
Tatler has approached Kensington Palace for comment.
