Kate Middleton pictured leaving Windsor Castle in car with William after Photoshop fail

Kate Middleton was spotted leaving Windsor Castle with Prince William on Monday just hours after apologizing for releasing a doctored family photo.

The Princess of Wales, 42, who has been recovering from abdominal surgery, was pictured in a black Land Rover to accompany her husband on the ride to Westminster Abbey, where the prince will attend the annual Commonwealth Day service without her.

It was the princess’ first public appearance in more than two months following her surgery, with Kate last appearing on Christmas Day while attending church in Sandringham.

The Princess of Wales is not expected to return to her public duties until sometime after the Easter holiday.

Kate’s absence from the public eye had stirred up conspiracies over her health, which were only exacerbated when the princess released a doctored photo of her and her children, forcing her to issue an apology Monday morning.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the princess wrote on X. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Kate tweeted her apologies after leading photo agencies — including Reuters, the Associated Press, Getty and AFP — all yanked the image over numerous signs it had been altered.

The altered photo showed the princess smiling happily with her three children –  Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 – and served as the first official photo of Kate since her surgery.

The Royal Palace had claimed the photo was taken by Prince William last week.

Along with Kate, King Charles will also not be attending the event, but he will be speaking in a pre-recorded video to pay tribute to the formation of the British empire and the modern day United Kingdom.

Charles, 75, was forced to postpone his public appearances while he undergoes treatment for an unspecified form of cancer.

With Post wires