Kate Middleton has broken her silence over the edited Mother’s Day photo she released on Sunday.
The Princess of Wales shared a new image of her alongside her three children to celebrate Mother’s Day on March 10.
Since its release, many took to social media to accuse the image of being digitally altered.
This comes after several of the world’s biggest international photo agencies said the photograph issued of Kate and her three children had been “manipulated”.
The Associated Press (AP) Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images all separately issued a “kill notice” to media organisations around the globe, confirming they had each deleted the image from their individual libraries.
Kate has now issued an apology by taking to The Prince and Princess of Wales social media accounts.
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She 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.
“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C”
A palace source also added: “The Princess has shared a statement on social media. This was an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales.”
“Their royal highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother’s Day. The Princess made minor adjustments as she shared in her statement on social media.”
“The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”
This was the first official picture of Kate that has been released since her abdominal surgery on January 16.
The 42-year-old was admitted to The London Clinic on January 16 for the planned procedure.
A spokesperson for Kensington Palace previously said that the Princess is “making good progress”.
They continued: “The Prince and Princess wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided.
“The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
In a previous statement, a spokesperson said: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate.”
“She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private.”
“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements.”
“She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
Kats is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter, and the Prince of Wales has temporarily stepped back from his royal role to care for her and their three children.
