Kate Middleton spotted for first time amid Photoshop furore

The Princess of Wales has been photographed for the first time since her edited photo scandal, as sources reveal the future Queen’s distress.

Kate Middleton is reportedly “very sad” the photo she released to celebrate Mother’s Day triggered an international scandal.

The Princess of Wales, who was spotted on Monday UK time for the first time since the furore erupted, was forced to apologise for “experimenting” with Photoshop before the image was distributed.

She is believed to have digitally manipulated the family snap three times before it was released on Sunday, UK time, The Sun reports.

The story hit the headlines globally when four major international picture agencies issued “kill notices” after discovering the picture had been altered.

Kate, who has barely been seen in public since her “planned” abdominal surgery in January, was photographed by paparazzi as she left Windsor Castle in a car on Monday, alongside her husband Prince William. Kate was seen turning her face from the cameras as she passed the photographer.

Prince William seen with Kate Middleton as he leaves Windsor Castle to attend The Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey. Picture: GoffPhotos.com

Kensington Palace has refused to release the original photo, only confirming a single image had been doctored, not several images spliced together.

The Palace added: “The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”

The Princess turned her head away from photographers. Picture: GoffPhotos.com

Kate, 42, apologised in a statement overnight.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she wrote on social media.

“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.”

Royal watchers and fans have reacted to the events of the past 24 hours in frenzied fashion, with UK author Omid Scobie – long thought to be a friend of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle – suggesting the palace let Kate take the fall.

“It’s fair to say that most photos released by the offices of public figures have been retouched in some way, so *if* this was an isolated incident then it would just be an unfortunate error. But with the Palace’s long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry), it’s becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share. Gaining that back at this point is an almost impossible task,” Scobie wrote.

Former Good Morning Britain host and royal family supporter Piers Morgan warned speculation would “get worse” unless the palace released the unedited photo, which was claimed to have been taken by Prince William.

“The Palace should release the unedited photo of Kate & the kids asap. If it’s just a small bit of harmless retouching gone wrong, nobody will care. If they don’t release the original pic, the conspiracy theories they were trying to kill, will get way worse,” Morgan wrote.

Rob Jobson, author of Our King: Charles III – The Man and the Monarch Revealed, said people “can’t really blame Kate”, speculating she had been “let down”.

“There needed to be some advisers around doing that job, making sure that in this modern world of modern communications that you cannot tamper with photographs that are being issued as official photographs,” Jobson told The Sun.

“It damages the integrity of the organisation that is issuing a photograph.”

“She’s [Kate] probably been let down, in my opinion,” he continued, adding Kate had done photo agencies a “huge favour” by shouldering the blame.

The last engagement Kate attended was on Christmas Day. Picture: Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images

Queen Camilla and Prince William held up the fort for the royal family at the annual Commonwealth Day service ceremony at Westminster Abbey. Picture: HENRY NICHOLLS / POOL / AFP

The Associated Press said the reason for deleting the photo was “at closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image”.

An AP spokesman further 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”.

While photo agencies allow minor retouching, they have strict rules to note circulate heavily edited photographs.

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

The last time the Princess was seen in public was Christmas Day, December 25 last year, when she and husband Prince William took their three children to a church service.

Originally published as Kate Middleton spotted for first time amid Photoshop furore