Guardian Nigeria
Top news agencies around the world have withdrawn an official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales released by Kensington Palace on Sunday.
Princess Kate has been out of circulation since her abdominal surgery in January. Conspiracy theories have since swirled over her disappearance from public life.
The speculation came despite Kensington Palace clearly saying at the time of her surgery that she would be “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter”.
The photo released by Kensington Palace to mark Mother’s Day in Britain shows the smiling Princess of Wales sitting on a garden chair, dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, surrounded by her three laughing children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” read a message accompanying the photo on the social media platform X.
“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day,” said the message, which was signed “C” for Catherine.
Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.
Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C
The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024
In a statement, the palace said the photo was taken “in Windsor earlier this week” by Kate’s husband, Prince William.
However, multiple news agencies including AFP later pulled the image over concerns it had been manipulated.
“It has come to light that the Handout issued by Kensington Palace today of Kate and the kids had been altered, therefore it was withdrawn from AFP systems,” the agency said in a note to clients accompanied.
The family photograph was the first official image of Kate released by the royal family since her hospitalisation at the London Clinic on January 16 for abdominal surgery.
The future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, eastern England.
Photos published by TMZ earlier in March showed Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven in a car, with the celebrity news site saying they were taken near Windsor Castle.
UK media outlets including the Daily Mail and The Sun chose not to publish the pictures.
AFP contributed to this report.
