Kate forced to speak out as royal furore escalates: ‘I experiment’

As conspiracy theories continue to run wild online, Kate Middleton made an unprecedented statement that added fuel to the fire.

Kate Middleton made an unexpected statement after her Mother's Day photo created a furore.

The Princess of Wales has been seen leaving Windsor castle with her husband, Prince William, hours after admitting she was responsible for the “manipulation” of a family photo released to mark Mother’s Day.

Controversy erupted over the snap - the first Princess Catherine had released since her abdominal surgery - when multiple photo agencies withdrew it from circulation.

The Associated Press, AFP, Getty Images and Reuters, which had all distributed the family photo in question from Kensington Palace, pulled it from their systems on Monday, with AP explaining “at closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image”.

An AP spokesman told The Telegraph: “The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

AFP cited an “editorial issue” as the reason for withdrawing the photo from its systems, while Getty Images did the same for “editorial reasons”. Reuters also pulled the photo “following a post-publication review”.

It is standard practice for picture agencies to withdraw edited images.

The British press yesterday reported Kensington Palace had refused to comment.

The photo in question. (Photo by Prince of Wales/Kensington Palace/Handout/Getty Images)

On Monday morning British time, however, Kate released an unexpected statement taking responsibility for the confusion.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said.

“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 photo, taken by Prince William, marked the first time Kate had spoken out publicly, or released a photo of herself, since her “planned” operation in January.

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” Kate wrote in the caption of the photo.

The photo remains on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official Instagram page.

Later on Monday, Kate was seen leaving Windsor Castle in a vehicle with William, who was on his way to Westminster Abbey in London for an annual Commonwealth Day service.

Other senior royals also attended the service, including Queen Camilla and Princess Anne. Kate was not there - The Daily Mail reported she was en route to a private appointment.

Princess Catherine. (Photo by Chris Jackson / POOL / AFP)

After a two-month disappearance from the public eye, Kate was seen for the first time in public last week, as photographers spotted her in the passenger seat as her mum Carole drove her near Windsor Castle.

Before that, the last time the Princess had been seen in public was on Christmas Day last year, when she and William took their three children to a church service.

Upon being posted on Instagram, the Mother’s Day photo from the Princess of Wales was flooded with comments suggesting it had been digitally altered.

Questions included where Kate’s wedding ring was, why the tree in the background of the image did not look like it was from the right time of year, and the unusual appearance of her daughter, Princess Charlotte’s, sleeve.

For once, the conspiracy theorists clearly had a point.