Catherine, Princess of Wales has apologised for any confusion she may have caused after releasing a family photo of herself with her three children that was edited.
Kensington Palace shared the image in celebration of Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom on March 10th, but eagle-eyed royal watchers noticed several “editing fails” almost immediately.
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Taking to official social media channels, Kate made the surprise admission that it was she who had edited the photo, which was reportedly captured by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle in early March.
“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.”
In the caption that originally accompanied the image, Kate thanked well wishes for their “continued support” as she recovered from her mystery abdominal surgery.
The scandal comes just days after the princess pulled out as an attendee of this year’s Trooping the Colour on June 15.
The official event website removed reference to the royal, with Kensington Palace confirming that the army did not seek permission to add her name to the event.
A day prior, Princess Catherine was spotted for the first time since late December.
The last we heard of Kate’s recovery was toward the end of February when Kensington Palace confirmed “The Princess of Wales continues to be doing well” after Prince William pulled out of an engagement due to a “personal matter”.
Prince William has been doing his best to keep up with royal engagements despite Kate’s unfortunate illness. On February 19, he arrived for the 2024 BAFTA Awards by himself while his wife, Kate Middleton remained at home, presumably resting.
The future King also appeared solo on the red carpet at London’s Royal Festival Hall wearing a navy blue velvet blazer and black bowtie.
At last year’s ceremony, William was accompanied by Kate. This year, however, the Princess of Wales’ schedule has been cleared until after Easter while she recovers.
Catherine was officially discharged from the hospital at the end of January. At the time, Kensington Palace released a statement ensuring the public that the 42-year-old was making “good progress”.
“The Prince and Princess [of Wales] [also] wish to say a huge thank you to the entire team at The London Clinic, especially the dedicated nursing staff, for the care they have provided,” they added.
“The Wales family continues to be grateful for the well wishes they have received from around the world.”
The shocking news that the princess would be hospitalised for two weeks came in the form of a statement released to the media on January 18, 2024.
WATCH NOW: The royal children join their mother Kate Middleton to volunteer at a baby bank. Article continues after video.
According to Kensington Palace, the surgery was successful, and Kate will now continue her recovery at home before returning to her royal duties no earlier than April.
According to insider sources, however, she is “already eager to get back to work,” and is “planning engagements and speaking with her team” according to US Weekly.
“The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible, and her wish that her personal medical information remains private,” the statement read.
“Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.
“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible as soon as possible.”
The surgery took place at The London Clinic, which is described as offering patients “world-class resources” and the “highest standards of medical care.”
On its website, the health facility says they specialise “in the care and treatment of complex medical conditions, such as cancer, women’s health, urology, and orthopaedics.”
Prince William of Wales took a temporary pause in his royal duties to support his wife in her post-operation recovery.
The Prince of Wales also publicly revealed at an event on February 7th, that “Catherine had two Filipino nurses looking after her and they were amazing and kind.”
It is expected that Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis are being cared for by their nanny, Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo as well as Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael Middleton who live in Bucklebury village, a 40-minute drive north from Adelaide Cottage where the Wales’ family currently live.
Whilst the exact purpose of the surgery has not been (and is likely to not be) confirmed by Kensington Palace, a spokesperson for the couple has revealed that her condition is non-cancerous.
