The Princess of Wales has apologised “for any confusion” her Mother’s Day photograph caused, after five agencies retracted it over editing concerns.

Catherine, in a statement posted on Kensington Palace social media, said: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”

The image, taken by the Prince of Wales, was the first of Catherine to be released since her surgery in January.

In her statement on X, formerly Twitter, Catherine said: “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. C.”

The photo shows the princess sitting down, surrounded by Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, the latter wrapping his arms around her.

It was the first official photo of the Princess of Wales since her abdominal surgery two months ago. Since then she has stayed out of the public eye.

The image was posted on the Prince and Princess of Wales’s social media accounts with a message from Catherine which said: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.

“Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”

But five photo agencies retracted the image over concerns it had been “manipulated”. The Associated Press issued a “kill notification” – an industry term used to make a retraction – late on Sunday, saying: “At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent.”

Reuters said it too had withdrawn the image “following a post-publication review” and AFP also issued a “mandatory kill notice”.

Getty Images became the fourth organisation to retract the photograph. And PA said on Monday it had retracted the image, based on there being no clarification from Kensington Palace.

Source: BBC