Princess Kate and Prince William have seen a huge surge in social media followers after their photo blunder.
The princess recently took responsibility and apologised for editing a Mother’s Day photo that was posted on the couple’s social media.
New data has revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales have gained more followers in a week since the King’s Coronation in May 2023.
The research found that the couple’s Instagram and X followers rose to over 218,000 last week since the princess’s photo controversy.
The Prince and Princess of Wales experienced a surge in social media followers
Getty
A study conducted by OnlineCasinos365 examined the social media follower count of Royal Family members to see if there was a change in online following since speculation about Kate’s whereabouts following her operation arose.
They revealed that the official Instagram account of Princess Kate and Prince William (@princenadprincessofwales) increased by 170,349 leaving them with over 15.3 million followers.
Kensington Palace’s X, formerly Twitter, account also saw a rise of 48,016 since the release of the edited photograph on March 10.
Google Trends data also revealed that worldwide ‘Kate Middleton’ searches are at a five-year high and soared by 1,566 percent compared to on average, which is a surge of over 26 times.
Princess Kate has faced criticism after editing a family Mother's Day photo
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The princess has been recovering from an abdominal operation since January and has not been performing public-facing duties.
Her absence caused a social media frenzy with some users making up conspiracy theories about her whereabouts.
Prince William spoke out about the claims about Princess Kate’s health saying: “His focus is on his work and not on social media.”
Kensington Palace also reaffirmed Kate's recovery timeline through a statement: "We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant."
Princess Kate has been seen alongside Prince William in Windsor over the weekend
GettyA spokesperson at OnlineCasinos365 commented on the research: “The social media rumours spreading like wildfire worldwide have sent thousands of new Instagram followers to royal accounts.
“It’s caused Kate and William to gain the most followers in a week since the Coronation, almost a year ago.
“It demonstrates the influence of the Royal Family and the intense magnifying glass they are under.
“Public interest and pressure is building around Kate Middleton, sparking wild conspiracy theories and social commentary.”
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The Princess of Wales underwent abdominal surgery in JanuaryPAIt comes as Princess Kate has been seen alongside Prince William in Windsor over this weekend.
According to The Sun, the princess was seen during a trip to her favourite farm shop in Windsor.
A witness at the farm shop said: "After all the rumours that had been going around I was stunned to see them there.
"Kate was out shopping with William and she looked happy and she looked well.
"The kids weren’t with them but it’s such a good sign she was healthy enough to pop down to the shops."