Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, admits she edited Mother's Day image, apologises

Kate Middleton has apologised for “any confusions” caused by the family photo she shared from her official social media handles on Mother's Day.

Princess of Wales Kate Middleton took to social media to issue an apology over the edited image she shared on Mother's Day. She admitted that she “experimented” with editing in the latest image that sparked a controversy on social media.

Kate Middleton poses alongside her three children in latest picture (Instagram)

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Kate Middleton wrote that she wanted to apologise for “any confusions” caused by the family photo she shared from her official social media handles on Mother's Day.

“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,” the Princess of Wales said in an official statement.

The photo in question was posted through the official social media accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, to mark Mother's Day celebrations in Britain. The photo shows Kate Middleton sitting in a garden chair, embracing her three children George, Charlotte and Louis.

The Mother's Day photo was Kate Middleton's first appearance on social media after undergoing her abdominal surgery, and it sparked a wave of speculations on the internet regarding its legitimacy. The photo was edited, many social media users pointed out, and multiple news agencies also pulled the photo from their reports due to its authenticity issues.

Up close, the photo shows that Princess Charlotte's left hand is misaligned with the sleeve of her cardigan, and several parts of the photo seemed over-saturated. The photo also showed Prince Louis's fingers slightly distorted, raising speculations of a bad Photoshop job.

Soon after the photo was published in multiple news reports, Associated Press, Reuters and AFP decided to withdraw it because it seemed manipulated. In a note to its clients, AFP said, “It has come to light that this handout photo... had been altered and therefore it was withdrawn from AFP systems.”