Kate sorry after scrutiny over altered photo

Britain’s Princess of Wales, issued an apology on social media yesterday for “any confusion” caused by an edited photograph issued by her office Kensington Palace on Sunday.

The British royal family faced growing scrutiny after prominent news agencies pulled the official photo for being altered.

Kate, 42, has not been seen in public since attending a Christmas Day church service, and underwent abdominal surgery in January, fueling speculation about her health, particularly online.

Her Kensington Palace office Sunday sought to dispel rumors by distributing an official photograph said to have been taken by her husband Prince William of her with their three children.

But questions quickly emerged of the Mother’s Day portrait of a smiling Kate, casually dressed and seated in a garden chair, surrounded by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Closer examination showed specifically that Charlotte’s left hand was misaligned with the sleeve of her cardigan.

AFP, Getty, the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters all have policies about distributing manipulated images, and pulled it, despite initially publishing the photograph provided by Kensington Palace.

“It has come to light that the handout issued by Kensington Palace today of Kate and the kids had been altered, therefore it was withdrawn from AFP systems,” the agency said in a note to clients.

The AP said it had retracted the image because on “closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards.” Reuters said similar.

Despite the furor, which many commentators suggested now cast doubt on palace reassurances about Kate’s health and recuperation, Kensington Palace has not commented.

William, 41, and other senior royals are expected to attend an annual Commonwealth Day celebrations in central London later yesterday.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the situation was “damaging” for the family. “They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate,” he said.

“Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.”