Kensington Palace is refusing to release the original Mother’s Day photo of Kate Middleton and her kids after the Princess of Wales admitted to editing the snap, the Daily Mail reported Monday.
According to the outlet, the royal family has felt “increasing pressure” to release the unedited version of the photo, with PR experts arguing that it needs to happen in order to regain the public’s trust.
Still, Kensington Palace has said it will not be releasing the pic – despite ongoing conspiracy theories about Middleton’s whereabouts post-surgery and claims that she heavily used Photoshop or an AI tool to doctor the image.
“It’s plausible [Kate’s] at home playing with the computer and using an AI tool, but if they’re really going to regain any sort of trust they should release the unedited photo, it can’t be that bad if they just made a few tweaks,” PR expert Mark Borkowski told the Daily Mail.
“I find they have risen to the challenge, provided the statement as an explanation – the question is with all the conspiracy theories running around, is whether people believe it and I’m not sure that they will.”
Earlier Monday, reported that the Princess of Wales was forced to release an apology after catching heat for sharing the altered photo.
The pic featured her and Prince William’s three kids — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — and was shared via Instagram on Sunday in celebration of Mother’s Day in the UK.
“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,” she wrote in a statement on the official Prince and Princess of Wales X account.
She added, “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
Middleton’s apology comes after several official photo agencies, including AP and Reuters, issued a “kill notice” on the image after finding that the pic had been heavily edited.
Royal sources told Daily Mail that it was “an amateur, family photograph taken by the Prince of Wales” in Windsor last week. They noted that the couple wanted an “informal” family photo, claiming Middleton only made “minor adjustments.”
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An aide also added that the Wales family “spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”
Conspiracy theories swirled over the weekend after fans noticed the botched photo job as Middleton continues to lay low following her recovery from a planned abdominal surgery in January.
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Middleton has been conducting her royal duties from bed and is not expected to return to her in-person engagements until after Easter.
However, concerns over her health were raised when William bailed on attending a royal engagement last month due to personal reasons amid his wife’s recovery.
Despite the mounting worries, Middleton’s rep confirmed to that she was “doing well.”
“Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates,” her rep told us. “That guidance stands.”
Middleton was photographed publicly for the first time since December when she went for a drive with her mom near Windsor Castle earlier this month.
She was again seen riding in an SUV along with William on Monday after putting out a statement about the edited family photo.
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