Kate Middleton Confesses To Editing Her Suspicious Mother's Day Portrait

Unlike Mother's Day in the U.S., which is celebrated in May, the UK's version of the holiday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which was March 10, 2024. As such, Catherine, Princess of Wales, released a photo of herself and her three children to mark the holiday after her continued absence from the public eye caused concern among fans of the royal family, with some even feeling it was time to start worrying about Kate Middleton as a result. The princess had planned abdominal surgery in January and wasn't expected to return to her duties until after Easter. 

But, upon its release, conspiracy theories exploded after the pic was accused of being fake. Middleton released the photo on her and Prince William's official Instagram account with the caption, "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day." However, there were many discrepancies in the pic, which was taken by her husband. These strange details included parts of the princess's hair and her right hand being blurry, and the floor tiles beneath the family not aligning properly.

Middleton herself took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on March 11 to address the rumors directly, writing, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 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. C."

As Slate pointed out, while the paparazzi follow the royals everywhere 24/7, not one photo surfaced of Kate Middleton ever leaving the hospital (or entering it, for that matter). The snap of the missing royal and her kids was also reportedly removed from media circulation due to concerns about its origins but remains on X, where it continues to be mercilessly mocked. The Verge also asserted that members of The Firm are always photographed professionally, so it was unusual for Prince William to have supposedly taken the photo, and even more bizarre that Middleton personally edited it.

The outlet also asserted that in the shot, the princess's arms seem longer than they should be, and her wedding ring is noticeably absent from her hand, which also looks like an editing tool was used, to smooth out the edges. Numerous X users noticed the strange details in the photo, with one writing in response to Middleton's statement: "Someone in your press office/PR department needs a very constructive 1-2-1 or end of year review. This has, in absolutely no way whatsoever, made this bizarre situation any better."

Yet many defended her too, encouraging the beloved royal to ignore the conspiracy theories and focus on her post-surgery recovery instead. One respondent even questioned why this particular picture had become so controversial in the first place, stating, "Every single digital photograph is digitally manipulated in processing. So they took a photo and tried to improve it in some way? I don't get why that's unusual?"

While Catherine, Princess of Wales apologized for the editing mishaps in the photo, it remains on the official Instagram page for the Prince and Princess of Wales. For some, the apology isn't enough. That included Piers Morgan, who posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), "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."

Plenty of people online have had fun with it and adding their own edits — including replacing Kate with Bernie Sanders or with Prince Andrew. The family's Christmas portrait also faced similar scrutiny, though that one was taken — and presumably also edited — by a professional photographer. That one, which the couple also posted on Instagram, seemed to show Prince Louis with an odd gap on his left hand.

Kate has had a long-time love of photography, but it seems like William may not have the same touch for photos that his wife does if Kate decided the photo needed some editing. For anyone who has had to try and get a good photo with their three kids, Kate's desire to do some editing makes sense — it can be a challenge to get everyone looking good!