Princess Kate Middleton apologized on Monday after admitting that she had edited a photo of herself and her children that was published yesterday on the palace’s official social media accounts to celebrate Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom.
“Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing,” she wrote on X. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating Mother's Day is very happy.”
The photo showed Middleton with her children, Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte. As of Monday morning, it remains on The Prince and Princess of Wales X account.
The caption, signed with a 'C' by Catherine, Princess of Wales, read: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.”
The Associated Press and other news agencies began pulling the image from their websites over concerns it had been “manipulated.”
“The Associated Press initially published the image, which was released by Kensington Palace. But the AP later retracted the image because upon closer examination, the source appeared to have doctored the image in a way that did not meet AP’s image standards. The image shows inconsistencies in the image,” she said. News Agency: “Princess Charlotte's left hand alignment.”
In addition to the Associated Press commenting on the manipulation of the photo, viewers noticed that the 42-year-old was not wearing her wedding ring in the photo.
Middleton has remained largely out of the limelight since December as he recovers from abdominal surgery in January. On January 17, the palace announced for the first time that Middleton had been hospitalized.
“Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to a London clinic yesterday for a planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful and she is expected to remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.” The statement said.
Fox News' Elizabeth Stanton, Tracy Wright and Carolyn Thayer contributed to this report.
