11 March 2024 , 09:07
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The Royal Family has ignored Princess Kate's photo controversy in its first post since the scandal.
The Princess of Wales shared a sweet image of her alongside her kids Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five, on Mothering Sunday. It was the first time she'd been seen publicly for the first time since Christmas. The mum-of-three, 42, underwent abdominal surgery in January and has been recovering at home. The Palace has said she will return to duties at Easter - and haven't budged with further details, except to say the op was not cancer-related.
However, fans quickly began to notice questionable details in the image - which had supposedly been taken by Prince William. The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Getty Images all separately sent out a "kill notice" to media organisations worldwide, confirming they had each removed the image from their individual collections.
A notice from The Associated Press stated: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image." This morning, the Royal Family's official X account has issued a post ignoring the backlash to celebrate Commonwealth Day. Today is Commonwealth Day – the annual celebration of this unique and diverse organisation," it reads. "2024 marks 75 years since the founding of the modern Commonwealth."
The Palace told the Mirror it does not wish to comment further on the matter. Kate, who isn't wearing her wedding ring in the photo, can be seen sitting and smiling with her arms wrapped around her younger children Louis and Charlotte, while George stands behind his mother and hugs her. Fans were quick to point out that part of Charlotte's arm appeared to be missing, meanwhile George's right hand appeared blurry.
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The post was captioned: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C." Kate was admitted to the London Clinic for a planned operation on January 16. She returned home after 13 days following the successful operation, and Kensington Palace said at the time the princess was "making good progress".
Kate has not been seen in public since she joined other members of the Royal Family for a Christmas Day walk, though US celebrity news site TMZ published a photo of her on March 4 which is understood to have been taken by unauthorised paparazzi. In the photo, which TMZ said was taken near Windsor Castle, Kate wore dark sunglasses and sat in the passenger seat of a black Audi being driven by her mother, Carole Middleton.