In a period of already deepening controversy, this week the Prince and Princess of Wales appeared to throw a lit match onto the flames of speculation about Kate Middleton’s health. In a move that was already seen as answering to the mounting pressure from the public, wondering about the princess’s whereabouts since her abdominal surgery in mid-January, the future King and his wife released a photograph of Kate and their three children to mark Mother’s Day on Sunday 9th March.

And yet, it only served to create even more controversy and speculation around the princess’s wellbeing and whereabouts. Then, in a shock development, the photograph was recalled by some of the world’s biggest picture agencies over claims it had been ‘manipulated’.

The image – which first appeared on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s official Instagram account on Sunday morning – shows the 42-year-old sitting on a chair, dressed casually in a navy jumper, jeans and boots, at their home in Windsor, surrounded by her three children Prince George, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. But, shortly after its release, the photo was recalled by photo agencies including Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters, which put out a ‘kill notice’ to halt their distribution of the picture because of apparent manipulation.

‘At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,’ the AP notice said. A spokesperson for AP told the Telegraph: ‘The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.’ Reuters picture editors said part of the sleeve of Princess Charlotte’s cardigan did not line up properly, suggesting that the image had been altered. Reuters said it could not immediately establish how, why or by whom the alteration had been made. Associated Press said that according to its ‘news values and principles’, minor edits to photos including cropping, toning and colour adjustment are ‘acceptable when necessary for clear and accurate reproduction and should maintain the authentic nature of the photograph’.

Amidst a sea of social media and news reports about the doctored image – including a front page story in The Telegraph – the Palace answered back. In an unprecedented move, the Princess of Wales wrote in an Instagram story, ‘Like many amateur photographs, 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.’

The photograph remains on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts where it was first shared on Sunday morning, with a caption containing a message thanking well-wishers for their support. ‘Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,’ the message read, referring to the time the Princess of Wales has taken off since her surgery in mid-January. ‘Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.’ Kensington Palace said the image was taken in Windsor last week by the Prince of Wales.

The photoshopping of this image, and the princess’s speedy apology have only served to make a tense period for The Firm even worse – with some commentators describing the past 24 hours as a huge blow to monarchy’s trustworthiness. As ITV’s Royal Editor Chris Ship wrote on X on Monday, ‘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…’. He added in a post on ITV’s website, ‘It’s notoriously difficult to get a good snap when you have three children in the same photo. Did someone swap in one or more of the children from one of the other attempts or “takes”? If that were the case, then it is a clumsy error which has had widespread consequences. Because after all the rumours about Kate’s health, a digitally-altered photograph was not going to make those rumours go away. In fact, they’ve simply grown overnight.’

Indeed, conspiracy theories have now reached an all time high on social media, with some pointing out that Kate isn’t wearing her wedding ring or engagement ring, and others questioning if the photograph is in fact an old one, with TikTokers claiming to have found clues it had been taken in November 2023 (with one user @allynaston pointing out the similarities in the outfits in the photograph with those worn by the family during an appearance last year). One X user claimed we are living in a ‘dystopian level of disinformation’ when it comes to how the Palace is handling the fallout from Kate’s illness and the speculation surrounding it. Former BBC presenter Peter Hunt wrote on X, formerly Twitter, ‘Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.’

This comes just a week after Kensington Palace delivered a snappy sounding comment in response to gossip site Page Six, who had questioned the Princess’s whereabouts as worrying conspiracy theories continued to circulate. ‘Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates,’ a spokesperson said. ‘That guidance stands.’ They added that the princess is ‘doing well’.

And so, this latest turn in the already dramatic sequence of events is one of the biggest blows to the Royal family at a time when they need it least. With the Princess of Wales out of action, King Charles undergoing cancer treatment, Prince Harry still very much estranged and Queen Camilla taking a break from public duties, Prince William is under more pressure than ever to stand up and serve his country and calm the storm which is raging around them. Putting out an altered image has turned out to be one of the worst decisions he and Kate could have made. Time will only tell what happens next, and how their public image recovers from such dark and controversial speculation.