Prince William and Kate Middleton Were "Astonished" by Mother's Day Photoshop Scandal

Middleton's intention with the photo was "to bring some joy to the nation," not to kickstart conspiracy theories.

While royal fans have backed off of of Kate Middleton and Prince William in light of the princess's cancer diagnosis, it was a completely different story months ago when Middleton was caught editing a Mother's Day photo that led to a scandal. Looking back, Middleton and William were "astonished" by the response to the photo edits, a royal biographer claims.

For Mothering Sunday, the Princess of Wales seemingly put the "Where is Kate?" speculations to rest by sharing a photo that features her alongside her and William's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. "This was not, aides insist, a response to noises off. It was something she had planned all along to mark Mothering Sunday," royal biographer Robert Hardman wrote in his book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

The Waleses, however, did not anticipate the negative response that would follow—the royals and their staff were "astonished by what happened next," Hardman explained, referring to the "kill notice" from several photo agencies, including Getty and AFP, for the editing inconsistencies in the photograph.

"'Anything written or said about the Princess of Wales at that point was at fever pitch and front page news. It also spoke to the nervousness of the photography industry around AI and their future. Even so, the reaction seemed extremely disproportionate,'" a palace aide told Hardman for the book. "'As far as the Princess was concerned this had just been a mother deciding to share a personal picture of her and her children on Mother's Day to bring some joy to the nation. That's all.'"

Hardman reported that despite the editing faux pas, "there was no great soul-searching the next day" from William and Middleton's home in Windsor. "'The Prince and Princess have agency in everything,'" a Kensington Palace staffer said in the book. "'They are the final decision-makers.'"

The scandal ultimately wrapped up with a message from Middleton herself. "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused," she wrote. "I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C."