Kate Middleton Addresses ‘Bizarre’ Family Photo Controversy

Kate Middleton

Kate Middleton finally broke her silence about that family photo.

On Sunday, March 10, the Princess of Wales shared a "new" photo with her three children–Princess Charlotte, Prince Louie and Prince George–honoring Mother's Day in the United Kingdom.

However, not all was as it seemed in the image.

As quickly as multiple news agencies reported on the new upload, they were just as quick as they "killed" it. The AP and AFP pulled the image after discovering upon "closer inspection" that "it appears that the source has manipulated the image” and that there was an "editorial issue" with it, respectively. Reuters also removed it following a "post-publication review."

The sudden takedown and rumors circulating that the image had been doctored only added fuel to the fire of conspiracy theories concerning the 42-year-old's whereabouts.

In an effort to quell the intrigue and potentially put an end to public perception that Middleton is "missing," a statement apparently signed by her was shared to the Prince and Princess of Wales' official X (formerly Twitter) account, addressing the accusations that the picture had been altered.

"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," the statement concluded, signed "C."

The March 11 statement didn't calm down all of the conspiracy theorists, who doubled down on the accusation that this was all part of an elaborate cover-up.

"Put the phone down William," one top-liked reply read.

"I am struggling to believe that the most famous royal family in the world - and the woman who would be queen - fiddled around with photoshop and put out a family pic (designed to quash rumours about her whereabouts) without anyone in the ranks inspecting it," another wrote. "Nah. Not buying it."

"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," a third explained.

There were also many calls to "release the original photo."

All the chatter comes amid viral claims Middleton has gone "missing" in the wake of a "planned abdominal surgery" she had earlier this year. Since her hospitalization in January, the princess has made one public appearance as she was photographed in the passenger seat of a car driven by her mother last week.

Middleton was supposed to return to her royal duties around Easter, per an earlier statement shared by Kensington Palace, but her first post-surgery engagement has since been removed from the official calendar, prompting even more questions.

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