Princess apologizes for ‘editing’ royals image
Catherine, Princess of Wales is taking responsibility for a manipulated image media outlets pulled from their publications Sunday.
“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the 42-year-old royal, née Kate Middleton, wrote on social media Monday. “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.” (Mother’s Day is celebrated in March in the U.K.)
The image in question showed Kate surrounded by her children, Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The latter’s odd-looking left hand caused scrutiny within news agencies that published the photo. It was the first official picture of Catherine shared by Kensington Palace since the wife of Prince William underwent abdominal surgery in January.
“At closer inspections,” The Associated Press issued a “kill order” on running Catherine’s photo. Other news agencies followed the AP’s lead by striking the image from its platforms. The palace didn’t immediately comment on the image.
The controversy surrounding the photo only fueled online conspiracy theories about Catherine’s well-being.
“It’s not real,” one X poster wrote Sunday. “Something is going on.”
Others were glad to see the princess and her children appearing happy and healthy.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” the princess captioned the photo posted to Instagram Sunday. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”
Kensington Palace said in January the royal had undergone “planned abdominal surgery” in London, which People’s sources said was not cancer-related. She was expected to be hospitalized for up to two weeks and sidelined from public appearances, likely including next week’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Catherine’s last public outing was reportedly a Christmas Day visit to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
She was spotted last week in a black SUV driven by her mother just outside of London, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Palace officials said after Catherine’s procedure that she hopes 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.”