unsaveSave
expand-left
full screen The royal residence Kensington Palace in London, where, among other things, the heir to the throne, Prince William, lives with his wife, Princess Kate. Archive image. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP/TT
The first official photo of Princess Kate, after an abdominal operation almost two months ago, has been depublished by several news agencies. The image is suspected to have been manipulated.
The photo of Kate in a chair surrounded by her three children is said to have been taken by Prince William earlier this week in Windsor, according to the heir to the throne’s office at Kensington Palace.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the past two months,” Kate said in a post posted on social media to the photo, in conjunction with Mother’s Day.
The image graced the front pages of several British newspapers, news sites and television broadcasts on Sunday, including the BBC. But now several international news agencies, including AP, AFP and Reuters, have chosen to depublish it.
“Upon closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP news agency wrote in a message to its clients on Sunday evening.
Neither Prince William, any employee, the court nor anyone in the family has so far commented on the news agencies’ suspicions.
The publication of the image follows weeks of rumours, speculation and conspiracy theories on social media about what happened to Kate since she left hospital on January 29, after being hospitalized for almost two weeks following the planned operation.
On Sunday, the princess had not been seen in public since Christmas Day.