Princess Kate apologizes for apparent Photoshop fail, as news outlets take down photo of her family

London – Catherine, Princess of Wales, issued an apology on social media on Monday for what happened Edit a photo of her family It was released on Mother's Day in the United Kingdom. A group of major international news agencies deleted the photo, which was published by Kensington Palace on Sunday, due to image manipulation.

“Like many amateur photographers, I sometimes experiment with editing,” the princess, known as Kate, said in a message shared on the Kensington Palace social media account on Monday. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone celebrating Mother's Day is very happy. C”

The photo in question, which shows Kate sitting with her three children, was the first photo published of the princess since undergoing surgery. Abdominal surgery About two months ago. Credit for the photo was given to Kate's husband William, the Prince of Wales. The photo was posted on social media with the message: “Thank you for your well wishes and continued support over the past two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C.”

A source at Kensington Palace said on Monday that Kate, William, 10-year-old George, 8-year-old Charlotte, and 5-year-old Louis spent Mother's Day together and wanted to share a casual photo. The source said that the photo was taken by William, but Kate made minor edits to it. The source said the family had a wonderful Mother's Day.

Shortly after Kensington Palace released the photo, international photo agencies, including the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, removed the photo from distribution to client news organizations due to apparent violations of their standards.

The AP said it removed the photo “because upon closer inspection, the source appeared to have manipulated the photo in a way that did not meet AP photo standards. The photo shows an asymmetry in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand.”

Online commenters noticed blurring in the photo around one of Charlotte's sleeves, while others pointed out what appeared to be photo edits around the children's hair and hands.

On Monday, the British Press Association news agency, which is often the first to receive and report news from the royal media, said it had also dropped the image after receiving no response to its request for clarification from Kensington Palace.

“In the absence of this clarification, we are deleting the image from our photo service,” the PA said.

Questions about Kate's health began spreading online after Kensington Palace announced that she had undergone planned abdominal surgery in January and would remain in hospital for 10 to 14 days. She will then continue her recovery at home and will not resume her royal duties until after Easter on March 31, the palace said.

The palace said at the time that Kate hopes “the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normalcy as possible for her children, and her desire for her personal medical information to remain private.”

With no updates on Kate's condition, in response to online speculation and media questions, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said in late February that the princess was “doing well”, and that “Kensington Palace clarified in January the timelines for her recovery.” The princess is recovering and we will only provide important updates. This guidance stands.”

Shortly after Kate's surgery was announced, Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that William's father, King Charles III, would undergo surgery to treat an enlarged prostate. It was later discovered The king suffers from an unknown type of cancerHe is currently undergoing treatment.