Four international picture agencies have decided to stop distributing an image of Princess Kate and her three children amid concerns the snap has been digitally manipulated.
On Sunday, which marked Mother's Day in the UK, Kensington Palace released an all-new image of the Princess of Wales alongside Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
However, within moments of it landing online, social media was flooded with conspiracy theories and claims that certain parts of the photo were amiss.
The furore surrounding the new photo comes just days after the Palace faced intense speculation about Kate's whereabouts after she underwent abdominal surgery earlier this year.
Now, foreign picture agencies including Reuters, AP, Getty and AFP have withdrawn the picture.
Its authenticity isn't in doubt given it was released by Kensington Palace but the agencies have said it may have been manipulated from an original.
Kensington Palace faced questions over this Mother's Day snap of Kate Middleton
KENSINGTON PALACE
Agency AP asked for the photo to be "killed" from its system, according to the Daily Mail.
It reportedly said in an alert: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image."
Meanwhile, Reuters said the picture was being removed from circulation "following a post publication review".
GB News royal correspondent broke the news on X, formerly Twitter, telling his followers: "At least 3 international picture agencies are no longer distributing the image released by Kensington Palace this morning. One of them @AP claims it appears to have been 'manipulated'. No comment from Kensington Palace yet."
At least 3 international picture agencies are no longer distributing the image released by Kensington Palace this morning. One of them @AP claims it appears to have been “manipulated”. No comment from Kensington Palace yet. https://t.co/fsq3kds4RV
— Cameron Walker (@CameronDLWalker) March 10, 2024
Questions had been raised by several royal fans on social media, with many mulling over the positioning of Louis's hand, the zip of Kate's coat, the lack of a wedding ring on her hand, Charlotte's sleeve and other distracting features.
However, one person who defended the photo upon its release was royal correspondent, Jennie Bond, who told Dawn Neesom on GB News today: "We’re seeing her in a traditional posting, each year they post on Mother’s Day.
“My first reaction was, goodness me, she looks fine and it’s a full-length picture, otherwise we’d probably have other conspiracy theories.
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Kate had 'planned abdominal surgery' in JanuaryGetty“She looks fine. She’s got all her limbs. She’s wearing quite a tight pair of jeans, which after abdominal surgery suggests that she’s feeling a bit more comfortable.
“She looks happy, the kids look relaxed, so it’s a relief to see that picture.”
Neesom questioned Bond on one distracting feature in the image - the missing wedding bands
“Here we go again”, she joked in response. “I didn’t look that closely, but I have no idea why. Perhaps she just done the washing up and left it on the side of the sink.”