Picture agencies issue takedown notice for ‘manipulated’ royal photo

London: The royal family’s attempt to quash speculation over the whereabouts of Catherine, Princess of Wales and conspiracy theories about her wellbeing has backfired after several news agencies deleted a family photo issued by Kensington Palace amid fears it had been doctored.

Four major international picture agencies – AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images – issued “kill notices” over the Kensington Palace image of the princess and her children shared for UK Mother’s Day, saying it had been manipulated at the source, and they were deleting it from their libraries.

“At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” a notice from the Associated Press read.

AP, when asked for more details, said it retracted the image because “the photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”.

The palace photo release was the first time the princess has engaged directly with the public since she appeared with the rest of the royal family in the walk to church at Sandringham on Christmas Day.

Kensington Palace has not responded to requests for comment and the image remains on the couple’s social media channels.

There is no suggestion that the picture misrepresents the princess or her children, or that she is not in as good health as she appears.

The image, which Kensington Palace said was taken at Windsor by her husband Prince William this week, showed the princess with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Catherine is shown looking healthy and dressed in jeans and smiling with her arms around Charlotte, 8, and Louis, 5. George, 10, is standing behind her with his arms around her neck in a hug, all laughing.

However, the image created even more social media speculation when eagle-eyed fans spotted that the sleeve of Charlotte’s arm didn’t line up.

The Getty Images “kill notice”.Credit: Getty Images

The picture, part of the family’s annual tradition of posting a message for Mother’s Day, was supposed to go some way to answering growing questions from the public about the princess’ wellbeing.

It was accompanied by a Mother’s Day message along with a “thank you” from the princess for the public’s “continued support” while she recovers following 13 nights at the London Clinic, in central London, after the surgery earlier this year.

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” the post read. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.” It was signed “C” for Catherine.

In January, the palace announced that Catherine had been admitted to hospital for planned abdominal surgery.

The Princess of Wales, with the Prince of Wales, in Dundee, Scotland in 2015.Credit: Getty Images

While the precise nature of her condition was unknown, there was a plea for privacy and guidance that she would not return to public duties before Easter. The palace has said the condition is not cancer-related.

With so few details about her condition released since, the question of “Where is Kate?” has increased on social media, accompanied by increasingly outlandish conspiracy theories.

What started as Facebook and TikTok chatter about her “disappearance” from public life flipped over into the mainstream media amid an information vacuum over her illness, the nature of King Charles’ cancer and then a “personal matter” that kept William away from a memorial for his Greek godfather, the late King Constantine II, last month.

In the mainstream media in recent days, the BBC has referred to the situation as “a royal dilemma”, the New York Times wrote about the “feverish speculation” over Catherine’s condition and the LA Times appeared to go one better with a piece about the frenzy over her “disappearance”.

In Europe, Spain’s El Pais ran a headline that read: “Scant information on the health of Charles III and Kate Middleton, who was seen in a photograph Monday, raises more questions than answers.” In tabloid magazines in Germany, conjecture ranged from Kate being the victim of a domestic abuse attack to being pregnant with twins.

The palace, meanwhile, reiterated it would provide updates on her recovery when there was significant new information to share.

It has said Catherine wants her personal medical information to remain private and that it would only provide updates on her progress when there was significant new information to share.

The Times reported this weekend that the palace had appealed to journalists for calm amid what they have noted is a rising sense of panic about the princess’ condition.

“The guidance hasn’t changed,” a palace source told the paper. “We made it clear that the princess would be unlikely to return before Easter and that’s what’s happening.”

Catherine’s surgery came on the same day that palace officials said Charles, 75, would also be entering hospital for treatment for an enlarged prostate.

During the King’s hospital stay, his medical team discovered he had an unspecified form of cancer.

The monarch has had to postpone his public engagements while he undergoes treatment, although he has been pictured carrying out some of his duties as head of state.

On Monday (London time) Charles is set to miss the 75th birthday celebrations for the Commonwealth as he recuperates from his treatment.

Queen Camilla will be the most senior royal in attendance when the family gathers at Westminster Abbey followed by a reception at Commonwealth’s international headquarters.

In a pre-recorded video message to be played during the service, Charles will pay tribute to the work of the voluntary club of 56 nations which evolved out of the British Empire and was set up in its current form in 1949.

“As I have said before, the Commonwealth is like the wiring of a house, and its people, our energy and our ideas are current that runs through those wires,” he says in his message.

Buckingham Palace also marked Mother’s Day, posting a picture of Charles kissing the hand of his late mother Queen Elizabeth, who died aged 96 in September 2022.

“Wishing all mothers, and those who are missing their mums today, a peaceful Mothering Sunday,” the accompanying message said.

Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.