Prince of Wales - Kensington Palace
UPDATE: This article has been updated with comments from the Princess of Wales.
Several news agencies have decided to withdraw an image posted by the Prince of Wales of his wife Princess Catherine and her children, as they believe the image had been altered.
Kensington Palace released the photograph on Sunday, leading AFP and other news agencies to withdraw the image, the first to be officially released since her abdominal surgery.
The photo, issued to mark Mother's Day in Britain, shows the smiling Princess of Wales sitting on a garden chair, dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, surrounded by her three laughing children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024
Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C
???? The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ
But close examination shows that Princess Charlotte's left hand is misaligned with the sleeve of her cardigan, casting doubt on the authenticity of the image.
After publishing the photo provided by the palace, the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP decided to withdraw it.
"It has come to light that this handout photo... had been altered and therefore it was withdrawn from AFP systems," the agency said in a note to clients.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".
Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
The release of the photograph came after an unusually long public absence for Kate.
The 42-year-old princess, whose husband Prince William is heir to the British throne, has been recovering from surgery mainly at their home in Windsor, west of London, since leaving hospital on January 29.
"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months," read a message accompanying the palace's photo on the social media platform X.
"Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day," said the message, which was signed "C" for Catherine.
In a statement, the palace said the photo was taken "in Windsor earlier this week" by Prince William.
It was the first official image of Kate released by the royal family since her hospitalisation at the London Clinic on January 16 for abdominal surgery.
Princess of Wales responds
Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Monday apologised over an altered official photo that saw news agencies, including AFP, pull the image from their systems.
"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," Kate wrote in a statement.
