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Kate Middleton faced calls to release the original version of a family portrait she edited before it was released to mark Mother's Day in Britain.
The Princess of Wales acknowledged touching up a photo of herself with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday.
Kensington Palace said the photo was taken by Prince William in the last week, but Kate wrote: "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."
Talk TV presenter Piers Morgan was among those who called for the original to be published so that Brits could determine how serious they believed the subterfuge was.
He wrote on X: "The Palace should release the unedited photo of Kate & the kids asap. If it's just a small bit of harmless retouching gone wrong, nobody will care. If they don't release the original pic, the conspiracy theories they were trying to kill, will get way worse."
It came after four picture agencies, including AP and Reuters, pulled the image citing manipulation by the source and against the backdrop of growing conspiracy theories on social media about Kate's health.
Among the tells, the line of Princess Charlotte's sleeve appeared broken, as was the step behind Prince Louis' legs, while the window frame appeared warped.
The waistband of Princess Charlotte's skirt stuck out beyond her body while the line of her knee suddenly blurred.
The three Wales children all appeared to have their fingers crossed and Kate was not wearing her wedding ring.
Chris Ship, royal editor at ITV, wrote on X: "The way to close everything down would be to release the original photo on which Kate decided to 'experiment with editing'. That's very unlikely, mind you ..."
Kate's prolonged absence from the public eye lit up social media, and when Prince William pulled out of a memorial service for his godfather on February 27, citing a personal matter, it only fueled the fire.
If the palace had hoped the Mother's Day picture would eliminate conspiracy theories suggesting Kate had gone "missing," then the editing fiasco only appeared to fan the flames.
One post on X viewed 3.5 million times read: "First it was a joke but I actually am a full on Kate Middleton conspiracy theorist now. What is going on in Kensington Palace."
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.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more