SHELLSHOCKED

Kate’s allies say furore over edited picture has been deeply ‘upsetting’ and left princess

THe Princess of Wales has been left ‘shellshocked’ at the furore around her Mother’s Day picture. Several well-placed sources in royal circles have told the Mail that Kate and her team have found the public fallout over the ‘ edited’ photograph taken by Prince William of her with their children deeply ‘upsetting’.

One said that while they acknowledged a mistake had been made, many felt it was time to ‘ move on’ and allow the princess to focus on her recovery from abdominal surgery and her children.

They said: ‘ everyone, including the princess, is a bit shellshocked by what has happened. A mistake was made but she has put her hand up and apologised. It’s been very upsetting all round.

But a lot of people feel it is time to acknowledge the error was made in good faith, as was her apology, and move on.’

The furore erupted after some of the world’s biggest picture agencies were this week forced to ‘kill’ the picture – which was taken at Adelaide Cottage, the Waleses’ Windsor home on Friday afternoon – amid fears it had been digitally ‘manipulated’.

It is against industry regulation to distribute anything that may have been materially altered from the original image.

William and Kate often release a personal tribute on Mother’s Day but it was also hoped that a new image of the princess – the first, officially, since Christmas Day – would put vicious social media rumours about her condition to bed.

Over recent weeks, internet trolls have spread a slew of outrageous smears about her welfare, which have now become the subject of mainstream speculation, even on the BBC.

Kensington Palace has not deviated from its first announcement in January that the future Queen had undergone what has only been described as ‘ planned abdominal surgery’ and, while she was recovering well, was unlikely to be fit to resume official duties until after easter.

Their decision not to offer any significant update, however, has encouraged trolls and critics of the royal Family to farm out conspiracy theories on social media. While the new photograph, posted by the Palace first on their own social platforms before being distributed to picture agencies, was initially widely welcomed, amateur sleuths on the internet began to notice a series of discrepancies that suggested someone may have tried to alter it before publication.

These included the placing of Princess Charlotte’s wrist and sleeve, and the curious appearance of Prince Louis’s fingers.

When these developments began to be reported by news websites, picture agencies including AP, AFP, reuters and Getty Images launched their own investigations. On Sunday night, several were forced to issue notices to withdraw the picture, amid fears it had been manipulated ‘by the source’.

As the row grew overnight, the princess took to social media personally on Monday morning with an unprecedented mea culpa, writing: ‘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’.

While her clearly genuine apology has mollified some, critics maintain that the debacle has damaged the Palace’s reputation for honesty. But it is clear that many in the royal Household and beyond are now circling their wagons around the princess.

Multiple sources have told the Mail that while she has no personal presence on social media, Kate has inevitably become aware of some of what has been said in recent weeks and has, understandably, found it distressing. She is understood to be ‘disappointed’ about what has resulted after an attempt to ‘just put out a nice picture of her kids’.

But she now wants to focus on ‘what is important in her life – her children – and her recovery’.

Another source was reported as saying that she just wanted the image to be ‘ perfect’ for her children, whom she is so proud of, knowing that the picture would be publicly scrutinised.

A third supporter told the Mail: ‘It was a mistake, although I would say retouching of pictures is very common in the news industry, as well as at home.

‘That’s not to dismiss what has happened. Lessons will have been learned. But it’s got a bit out of control from a social media perspective and now it’s time to draw a line under it.

‘The amount of pressure and scrutiny that poor woman is under right now – she just wanted to do the best for her kids. This really isn’t going to help her recovery.’

While some have called for ‘heads to roll’ at the Palace, one insider told the Mail ‘that would never happen’.

‘The prince and princess are very loyal to their staff and would never, ever hang one of them out to dry. That simply isn’t their style,’ they said.

‘The princess would also have wanted to tell the truth, which was the most important thing, and she did.’

In a bizarre twist yesterday, the New York Post reported people close to the Duchess of Sussex apparently wading into the furore.

They quoted an unnamed source as saying ‘this isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make’, and arguing the incident was an example of double standards when it came to the media’s treatment of the duchess.

‘If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue, they would have been annihilated,’ the source said. ‘The same rules do not apply to both couples.

‘ This isn’t a mistake that Meghan would ever make . . . she has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.’