A new photo of the Princess of Wales with her three children has been slapped with a 'kill' notice by global image agencies over one detail in particular.
Published on social media via official Kensington Palace channels, Kate Middleton thanked the public for its 'kind wishes and continued support over the last two months' before wishing everyone a happy Mother's Day (10 March).
But the image of Kate with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis has become the headline, with social media users saying they had found issues with how the image had been edited.
This was then backed up by official global photo agencies, who issued immediate take down notices to media outlets using its service.
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It has been reported that the Royal Family had hoped the image - which was taken by Prince William - would serve as a way to put a stop to ongoing rumours across social media, with Kate having not been seen in public since Christmas Day 2023.
She underwent surgery in January for an abdominal issue and has been recovering at home ever since.
On Good Morning Britain, journalist and presenter Susanna Reid said on the ITV show today (11 March) that the situation opens up the Royal Family to further speculation.
Kevin Maguire, associate editor at the Daily Mirror newspaper, told Susanna: "It fuels the wider conspiracy theories that it was intended to halt."
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She said: "If they have manipulated Charlotte's wrist what else have they manipulated? That is the question."
Kate's uncle, Gary Goldsmith, also appeared on GMB where he gave his opinion on why the image may look the way it does.
The main reason that saw global photo agencies scrap the image from its libraries is due to a rather obvious inconsistency with Princess Charlotte's left hand and arm.
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It has seemingly been doctored in some way in the editing stage, with her wrist and sleeve physically not matching up.
Getty Images, AFP, Reuters and Associated Press (AP) all pulled the photo with 'kill' notices issued to media outlets signed up to their services.
They noted an 'inconsistency in alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand' as the reason for the kill notice.
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Reuters said it was removing the photo 'following a post-publication review', while the AP said: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent."
So far, Kensington Palace has issued a 'no comment' response when asked by ITV about issuing of the photo being doctored or edited.
LADbible has also approached the Royal Family over the image.
Late had surgery earlier this year where she spent 13 nights in private hospital at the London Clinic.
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King Charles has also had treatment there in recent months, with the head of state revealing earlier this year he was diagnosed with cancer.
Topics: Kate Middleton, Prince George, Prince William, Royal Family, Social Media, Twitter, UK News, Viral, ITV, Good Morning Britain
Tom Earnshaw