Kate Middleton has been seen leaving Windsor Castle after addressing the controversy surrounding a new photo released to mark Mother’s Day.
A new photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, was shared alongside a personal message from her to mark Mother’s Day yesterday (March 10) as she recovers from abdominal surgery.
The Princess of Wales underwent the surgery in January. She has been recovering since and isn’t expected to return to royal duties until Easter.
On Sunday, Kate shared a new photo of herself with her three children to celebrate Mother’s Day. However, since then the royals have faced accusations that the picture was edited.
On Monday morning, Kate released a statement to apologise for causing “confusion” as she admitted to editing the photo.
Now, in images obtained by the MailOnline, the Princess of Wales has been spotted leaving Windsor Castle on Monday afternoon in a black Land Rover with husband Prince William by her side.
William is heading to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey but Kate will not be attending, it is understood.
View this post on Instagram
New Kate Middleton photo released on Mother’s Day
Taking to Instagram on Sunday, Kate posted a photo of herself smiling with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five.
In the picture, taken by the Prince of Wales, the family smile. George has his arms wrapped around Kate as Louis and Charlotte cuddle up to their mum on either side of her.
Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.
In the caption, Kate wrote: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C.
“[Camera emoji] The Prince of Wales, 2024.”
According to ITV’s royal editor Chris Ship, the photo was taken earlier this week.
Fans loved the photo and gushed in the comments. One person said: “Happy Mother’s Day to the Princess of Wales! Thank you so much for treating us to such a lovely picture taken by the Prince himself.”
Another wrote: “Aw what a beautiful picture taken by our Prince of Wales!! It’s so wonderful to see our Princess of Wales again and she is surrounded by so much love as we all said!”
Someone else added: “A stunning picture of Catherine and her children. Happy Mother’s Day.”
However, fast-forward a few hours and a few editing “errors” were picked up by royal fans and followers.
Amid the backlash, Kate herself has broken her silence on the reports on Monday morning. And, she’s admitted that she did edit the photo.
Kate’s statement in full
In a statement posted to social media this morning (March 11), she shared an apology.
It read: “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.
“I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day.”
The note was signed off “C”, for Catherine.
Princess of Wales surgery
In January, Kensington Palace released a statement as Kate underwent abdominal surgery.
At the time, it read: “Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales was admitted to hospital yesterday for planned abdominal surgery. The surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.
“Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
Kate has been recovering since. However, last week, a photo emerged in America of Kate during her recovery. However, online and print publications based in the UK have decided not to publish them. But why has the UK press decided not to publish the photos of the Princess of Wales?
View this post on Instagram
The pictures – which are very grainy so presumably shot from a distance – show Kate being driven in a navy Audi by her mother Carole Middleton.
ITV royal editor Chris Ship explained: “There are pap picture of the Princess of Wales. We are not running them out of respect for her privacy whilst she recovers from her operation in the timescale we were given for it. As far as I know, no other UK broadcaster or newspaper has published the photos either.”
So what do you think? Tell us on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.