Kate Middleton’s photo scandal ‘a sloppy mistake,’ but shows ‘integrity’ from apologetic princess: experts

Kate Middleton has found herself in the middle of controversy.

On Monday, the Princess of Wales spoke out after photo and news agencies pulled a new photo released by Kensington Palace for Mother’s Day in the U.K. due to suspicions of manipulation.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," read a message by the mother of three shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram Stories.

Some royal experts are commending Kate for taking responsibility, while another tells Fox News Digital it is "yet another public relations disaster for the palace" that fuels conspiracy theories. 

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"I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused," the 42-year-old wrote. "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day."

The message was signed "C" for Catherine.

"The certainty is that a ‘slimmed down monarchy’ means fewer are guiding the royals and those who are aren’t as media savvy as they need to be," British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital. "In our fast-paced world with tech-savvy media outlets, the palaces need to hire the best and brightest in such fields."

Still, Fordwich pointed out that there is "integrity" in Middleton's apology as she recovers from abdominal surgery for undisclosed reasons.

"While this certainly isn’t ‘business as usual’ nor what we would expect from a royal household… it shows great humility to admit one’s mistakes," Fordwich shared. "Others might have either remained silent or tried to blame another. Kate issued a straight-up, no-nonsense apology. Many could learn a lesson from such."

A spokesperson for Kensington Palace, which handles the office of the Prince and Princess of Wales, didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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The image in question showed Middleton with her children, Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. As of Monday afternoon, it remains up on the Prince and Princess of Wales' X account.

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day," the caption read, signed with a "C."

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The Associated Press and other news agencies began pulling the image from their websites over concerns that it was "manipulated."

"AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared 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," the news agency said.

Other issues spotted from eagle-eyed fans include:

• A portion of the sleeve of Charlotte’s left sleeve is missing, unnaturally slimming her wrist
• Charlotte’s hair ends abruptly on her right shoulder
• Louis’ thumb is blurred on his right hand and his little finger ends abruptly on his left hand
• The pattern on Louis’ sweater is mismatched on his right arm
• The alignment of the zipper on Middleton’s jacket is off on her left side
• The hair on Middleton’s right is blurred while George’s sweater behind her is not
• The edge of Charlotte’s boot heel is distorted
• Middleton’s wedding and engagement rings are missing

Kensington Palace declined to comment. Fordwich also pointed out that "trees aren’t in bloom in early March in [the U.K.]," as the photo demonstrates.

"That was a sloppy mistake, as were the many others," she said. Meanwhile, royal expert Neil Sean told Fox News Digital that he believes Middleton "is humiliated in some respects but doesn't really understand what this fuss is about."

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According to AP, their "editorial standards state that images must be accurate. AP does not use altered or digitally manipulated images.

"AP’s news values and principles explain that minor photo editing, including cropping and toning and color adjustments, are acceptable when necessary for clear and accurate reproduction and should maintain the authentic nature of the photograph.

"Changes in density, contrast, color and saturation levels that substantially alter the original scene are not acceptable. Backgrounds should not be digitally blurred or eliminated by burning down or by aggressive toning. The removal of ‘red eye’ from photographs is not permissible."

When AP determined the photo appeared to have been manipulated, it issued what is known as a "photo kill," an industry term that retracted the image and instructed clients to remove the photo from their systems.

"Many people these days edit photographs, so it’s hardly a surprise that the royal family might also do so," British broadcaster Jonathan Sacerdoti told Fox News Digital. "Indeed, many celebrities and high-profile people have retouching done to important photos. This photo was always going to be intensely scrutinized, so it’s no surprise that people looked for clues and hints which might fit the theories they had about the princess’ health. That we’ve been told so little about her condition has meant speculation has been enormous. These days, conspiracy theories spread around the world faster than ever."

"Any sign of manipulation risks encouraging further speculation and conspiracy theorizing," Sacerdoti continued. "Either way, the photo may have even been from before her medical incident, as it is simply a generic family snap."

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The Associated Press also announced that "no replacement photo will be sent." Fox News Digital confirmed that Reuters and Getty also pulled the photo from their sites.

The image shows Middleton sitting down as she is embraced by Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte.

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The caption noted that the photo was taken in "2024" by Middleton's husband, Prince William, who is heir to the British throne.

Middleton was previously accused of Photoshop mishaps with her family's 2023 Christmas card, which also featured her children and Prince William. In that image, Louis appears to be missing a finger.

The princess is known for photographing the official birthday portraits of her children. In 2020, she participated in a project where she photographed Holocaust survivors with their grandchildren. In 2022, she shot a portrait of Queen Camilla for the British magazine Country Life.

"People forget that Kate is an accomplished photographer and has curated several major photo exhibits," Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," told Fox News Digital. "Of course, it's no surprise that she would be retouching family photographs. I'm less concerned about any tweaking she may have done and more concerned about when this photo was taken. Obviously, the photo agencies that withdrew it have concerns about that as well."

"This whole Photo-gate thing is yet another public relations disaster for the palace," Andersen explained. "It was designed to allay concerns about the royal’s health but did just the opposite. The release of this photo and Kate's subsequent apology only serve to further muddy the waters. Members of the royal family have never been particularly well-served by their advisers, but all this recent bungling is extraordinary."

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"It's time for the palace to rip off the Band-Aid," Andersen continued. "The conspiracy theories will just keep getting more and more outrageous until the palace comes clean about Kate's health challenges, whatever they may be. Yes, she is entitled to some degree of privacy. But as the future queen, the wife of a future head of state and the mother of a future monarch, she also owes the British public a clear explanation of why she has had to step back for months… One can't help but think that things are far worse than we're being led to believe."

Speculation about Middleton’s whereabouts and health has been running wild since January when it was announced that she had been hospitalized.

A spokesperson for Middleton previously commented on the rumors, telling Fox News Digital at the end of February, "Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates. The guidance in January stands that the Princess would be recuperating at home in Windsor."

Recommendations from her medical team indicated that the princess would likely not resume public duties until Easter, later this month.

"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 original statement read. "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."

The Princess of Wales was first seen publicly in an unofficial capacity when she was spotted by photographers being driven in a car by her mother, Carole Middleton.

Fox News Digital's Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.