Catherine, Princess of Wales, is the perfect royal but can’t escape the mother of all mum bashings | Amy Bissett

In the history of time, no royal picture has divided the globe as much as that fake Kate family snap, writes Amy Bissett.

Are you team Kate or team fake?

It’s the question that’s divided a nation. No scrap that, it has divided the globe.

Almost everyone from England to Australia, and all those countries in between, has an opinion.

For the few who live blissfully unaware of large-scale news events, it’s the story of Catherine, the Princess of Wales, getting trigger happy in an editing suite and accidentally nipping off a wedge of her daughter’s wrist.

She also overlooked the shonky mismatched tiling floor, meandering zippers that appear to slip into nowhere and slightly blurry hair.

And there’s claims - okay, outcries - she even superimposed her face, using a shot from an old Vogue shoot.

Could it be the nanny’s body? Will we ever truly know?

A photo released by Kensington Palace on March 10, 2024 of Catherine, Princess of Wales with her children.

A picture shows stories in Britain's national newspapers, about the altered Mother's Day photo released by Kensington Palace on March 10. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP

A picture shows stories in Britain's national newspapers. Picture: Paul Ellis/AFP

“How could she?” has been the question bandied by team fake, outraged after four press agencies issued an instant “kill” over photo tampering of the Mother’s Day picture.

Officials at Buckingham Palace have had to step in, the princess herself forced to apologise for her haphazard editing, and now there’s claims she is in ‘fragile’ state over the intense scrutiny.

But for the most rational and reasonable, including most of our readers, the message has been loud and clear: Leave the poor woman alone.

The Advertiser reader Kerry-Ann aptly shared, “So Kate edited a photo of HER family to wish ours a happy Mother’s Day... We all experiment with photoshop. Leave her alone and let her get well.”

Robert added, “Leave her alone! Those same papers have printed doctored photos in the past of various celebrities.”

The days of swarms of press photographers chasing down the Royals are over but tensions still simmer over a strained arrangement. Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage

The ‘kill’ reaction of the press agencies sparked an international outcry over Kate’s fake pictures/ Credit @ princesscatherineofwales Instagram

Let’s take a little look at how we got here. The Princess of Wales has been taking photographs of her three children, Georgie, Charlotte and Louis, in the grounds of their home since they were born.

Often sweetly described as a hobby for the royal couple, the reality is it’s less hobby and serves as a slice of protection for their children.

For every photo they take, it’s a little less time sitting patiently for an official royal photographer.

A once-in-a-blue-moon situation for us mere non-blue bloods but for the Royal Family, it’s an occasion for every occasion from Easter to Christmas and, of course, Mother’s Day.

Officially released photographs also works in slightly placating the British press, an offering to ensure the days of Princess Dianna having to beg and plead and negotiate with a swath of photographers to give her children space would never happen again.

After all, we know how that ended.

Prince Charles and Princess Dianna visit Brisbane in 1983. Courier Mail.

Catherine, Princess of Wales on one of her 172 commitments last year, on day thirteen of The Championships Wimbledon 2023. Picture: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

So, for those who question why Kate would even bother to release a photo, especially as she’s been MIA on the Royal scene since Christmas, then let’s point firmly to the press agencies who dramatically notified the world that it been tampered.

It ignited a vilification as if the princess had dropped to the lowly lows of a Kardashian and started face-tunning her children.

She was not only a mum who wanted to share a nice photo of her children on Mother’s Day, but a mum who had just come out of hospital after a lengthy stint, who had juggled parenthood with 172 public commitments in 2023 and who simply hadn’t mastered the art of PhotoShop.

It’s all less “how could she” and more “how could she even find the time to try and hop onto her pc and start editing?”

Perfect Kate is truly testament that even if you’re part of the Royal Family, even if you’re the future Queen of England, and you’ve never put a previous foot wrong, you’re still going to get good old dose of mum bashing.

Even on Mother’s Day.

Lesson learnt: Try harder next time, Kate. The world is watching and waiting.