A storm on social media over the latest photos of Kate Middleton published by members of the UK royal family

Controversy surrounds the first official photo of British Princess Kate Middleton published since her abdominal surgery. Many news agencies dropped the photo of the princess with her three children, saying it had been shown to have been manipulated.

Kensington Palace published the photo on Sunday, on the occasion of Mother's Day in Britain.

The smiling Princess of Wales was seen wearing jeans, a jacket and a dark jacket, as she sat on a lawn chair. Her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis are with her in the photo. Her engagement ring was not visible in the photo, which became a topic of discussion on social media.

Thank you for your well wishes and continued support over the past two months.

I wish everyone a happy Mother's Day. C

📸Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ

-The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024

The palace said that her husband, Prince William, heir to the British throne, took her to Windsor, where Kate has been recovering since her release from hospital.

A message accompanying the photo read: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.” It is signed “C” for Catherine.

News agencies retract the photo

Three news agencies – Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters – withdrew the image this morning over fears of tampering. But the UK's largest news agency PA, through which the royal family publishes its official notices, has not taken any such step yet.

In the photo, Princess Charlotte's left hand was found not to be parallel to the sleeves of her jacket, raising doubts about the authenticity of the photo.

“It has been found that the bulletin issued by Kensington Palace today to Kate and her children has been modified and has therefore been withdrawn from AFP’s systems,” the Agence France-Presse said in a note to its clients.

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that Kensington Palace in London refused to comment on news agencies' withdrawal of the photo.

Many users accused the royal family of sharing an AI-generated photo of the princess, noting that this was the first time she had been clicked without her engagement ring.

“If the #princessofwales photo from last week is what the palace claims…why didn't Combs make sure her engagement ring was on her hand? Like, you know people would focus on that. Yes, PW allegedly took the photo but c'mon,” one user said. “.

An early example from the local Royal Rota captain of how this is done #Catherine, Princess of Wales Photo disaster may be covered up:

We actually have reason to doubt its authenticity because KP has not given us many reasons to trust it. pic.twitter.com/yqoqsFlZNf

– Meredith (@TheMereDish) March 11, 2024

“There is something rotten in a country…” William Shakespeare.

Toxic RF recreates an AI-generated Mother's Day photo with mutilated hands, a missing part of a sleeve, and a missing engagement and wedding ring edited out – too late. #Princess of Wales Fake photo. pic.twitter.com/IXz10Ux4sg

– Ryn Shell (@RynShell) March 10, 2024

Kate's absence from the public scene has sparked intense speculation and wild conspiracy theories. The palace had said at the time of her surgery that she was “unlikely to return to her public duties until after Easter,” adding that the surgery she underwent was not related to cancer.

Her father-in-law, King Charles, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.

The final photo of the future queen was taken in December when she attended a church service with her family in Sandringham.

She was admitted to the hospital on January 16 for abdominal surgery and was discharged on January 29. The photo released by the palace yesterday is the first official family photo to be published since then. Before that, she was seen driving a car last Monday. Several UK media outlets, including the Daily Mail and The Sun, chose not to publish the images.