Kate Middleton’s First Photo Since Abdominal Surgery Retracted Amid Manipulation Concerns
Is Kate Middleton the victim of a Photoshop fail?
Just hours after Kensington Palace released its first official pic of the Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery in January, the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty Images and Agence France-Presse pulled it from their databases and issued "kill notices," or advisories to editors and clients to remove or not use a pic.
The photo, which was shared the morning of March 10 on Kate and husband Prince William's Instagram and X pages in honor of U.K.'s Mother's Day, featured Kate surrounded by their kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
"The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace," the news wire said in a statement to NBC News. "The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand."
photosKate Middleton & Prince William's Best Moments
Meanwhile, Reuters noted that the photo "has been withdrawn following a post publication review," while AFP cited an "editorial issue," with the pic in a notice on their site, NBC News reported.
Getty Images said in its own message, "For editorial reasons, please remove the following image(s) from your system and do not use in any manner."
E! News has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment and has not heard back.
Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Trending Stories
1
Jennie Garth Briefly Addresses Dan Schneider & Costar Amanda Bynes
2
Why Paris Hilton and Carter Reum Don't Share Photos of Daughter London
3
YouTuber Aspyn Ovard Files for Divorce Amid Birth of Baby No. 3
The picture was released about a week after Kate was photographed riding in a car alongside her mother Carole Middleton near Windsor, marking the first image of her since she, William and their kids' appearances at the royal family's public Christmas walk in December 2023, weeks before she underwent her surgery in a private hospital in London.
The Palace had said in January that "based on the current medical advice," Kate is "unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter." Amid the speculation about her, a spokesperson for the princess told E! News on Feb. 29, "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates. That guidance stands."
(E! and NBC News are part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Read on for more about the latest royal family news, including King Charles III's cancer battle.
