Kate Middleton Photo Deepens Conspiracy Theories

Kate Middleton conspiracy theories went into overdrive after a new photo released by Kensington Palace was "killed" by picture agencies over fears it had been manipulated.

The Princess of Wales has been absent from public duties since Christmas Day, sparking a viral social media trend suggesting she was "missing."

As if that wasn't bad enough, the palace appears to have stoked the fire by releasing a new image for U.K. Mother's Day that appears to have been altered.

The Associated Press and Reuters were among those to urge their clients to remove the image from circulation over the concerns.

AP's "kill notification" read: "Clients please be advised that the following story has been killed and should no longer be used."

The reason stated was: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent."

A Kensington Palace press release publicizing the image on Sunday read: "A new picture of the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis was posted on our social media channels today to mark Mother's Day. The image was taken in Windsor earlier this week by the Prince of Wales."

Among the details picked out on social media are a break in Princess Charlotte's sleeve, which appears to suggest her hand was moved.

Many also commented on the fact Kate does not appear to be wearing her wedding ring and the children appear to have all crossed their middle fingers over their ring fingers.

The apparent manipulation is particularly charged because X, formerly Twitter, has been rife with conspiracy theories suggesting Kate has gone "missing" since her last appearance on Christmas Day.

The princess had planned abdominal surgery on January 16 and the palace announced she would be out of action until after Easter as she recovered.

Journalist Concha Calleja went on Spanish TV show Fiesta to claim Kate was in a medically induced coma, a claim the palace dismissed to Newsweek as "ludicrous."

But the idea that Kensington Palace wasn't giving the full story took off on Twitter, where jokes and memes on the subject racked up millions of views.

Many posts were light-hearted, but beneath the humor lay a genuine problem for the palace—people appear not to understand why there has been no new photo of Kate since her operation and some think it means aides have something to hide.

Prince William's unexplained decision to pull out of a recent memorial for his godfather added to the speculation and it was in that context that the new picture of Kate and her children was always going to be viewed.

That makes it even harder to explain any decision to doctor the photo, and no explanation has yet emerged from royal aides.

One possibility is that it was simply difficult to capture a picture in which Kate and all three children were all smiling at the same time.

However, that wouldn't explain the apparent decision to move Charlotte's hand. Now that it has happened, however, it may be hard for the palace to regain the public's trust.

The social media theories have once again gone into overdrive.

One post by prominent left-wing commentator Owen Jones was viewed 1.4 million times after it was posted with the message: "Oh wow. Ok I am now fully on board the Kate Middleton truther train."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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