Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: Kensington Palace 10:13 a.m., March 11, 2024

A few hours after the publication of an official photo of Princess Kate, the first since her abdominal operation, several news agencies chose to unpublish the photo due to an anomaly which suggests that the image was been manipulated.

A publication which revives speculation about the state of health of the Princess of Wales.

Kensington Palace published a manipulated photo of Princess Kate on Sunday, an anomaly that led AFP and other major news agencies to unpublish the photo, the first official image released since the princess's operation in mid-January .

The photo shows Kate smiling, sitting on a rattan chair on a terrace with her three children on Mother's Day.

Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months.



Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day.

C



The Prince of Wales, 2024 pic.twitter.com/6DywGBpLLQ

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 10, 2024

But a detailed examination shows that Princess Charlotte's left hand is misaligned with the sleeve of her vest, which casts doubt on the authenticity of the entire photo.

After relaying the photo provided by the palace, the Associated Press (AP), Reuters and AFP agencies decided to unpublish it.

“It has emerged that the image provided by Kensington Palace today (Sunday) of Kate and her children has been altered. As a result, it has been removed from the AFP service and must no longer be used in any way.” , indicated AFP.

“A closer examination revealed that the source manipulated the image in a way that does not comply with AP photo standards,” detailed the American agency, which was the first to remove the photo of her sons.

Contacted, Kensington Palace did not respond to requests from AFP.

Several media outlets were also surprised by the absence of a wedding ring on the finger of Kate, who married Prince William, heir to the throne, in 2011.

Long absence

The palace's publication of this image on Sunday came after a long and unusual media absence for Kate, which has for weeks sparked speculation about her state of health.

With this photo, was the palace hoping to put an end to these questions?

Particularly after an eventful week, with the publication of an unposed photo in American media specializing in celebrities, and confusion surrounding the presence of the princess at an official event next June.

In the photo, taken by William, according to the palace, and posted on the couple's official social media accounts, Kate is dressed in jeans, a sweater and a dark jacket, surrounded by her three children, George, Charlotte and Louis, laughing.

The photo was taken "in Windsor earlier this week", the palace further clarified.

"Thank you for your well-wishes and continued support over the past two months. I wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day," reads the short message signed "C" (for Catherine) accompanying the photo.

If the actions of the royal family are always scrutinized by the press, the communication around the operation and Kate's convalescence has raised many questions, even criticism, including in the tabloids, although they are very favorable to the couple. that she trains with William.

This manipulated image risks fueling these questions, as the last official public appearance of Prince William's wife dates back to the royal family's Christmas mass in Sandringham (east of England) at the end of December, two months ago. and a half then.

An unprecedented discretion for the popular princess, whose travels very often make the headlines in the British media.

Quack

Kensington Palace announced on January 17 that the princess had undergone a "scheduled" abdominal operation the day before in a London clinic, without specifying the cause, but denying that it was linked to cancer.

Relaying Kate's "wish" "that her personal medical information remain private", he indicated that she would not participate in any official public engagement before Easter, March 31.

William had also reduced his schedule to stay with his wife and their children.

Twelve days later, the palace said the princess had returned to her home in Windsor.

And since then, nothing, or almost nothing, except a short statement at the end of February while questions piled up in the press, to indicate that it "continues to do well", after the cancellation of a Prince William's public engagement for an unspecified "personal reason".

But this week, the palace's careful communication was put to the test.

First, with the publication on Monday in two American media specializing in celebrities of a photo of Kate, dark glasses on her nose, sitting in the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by her mother.

The image was not picked up by British newspapers, in line with the official request to respect the family's privacy during the princess's convalescence.

>> READ ALSO

- Kate Middleton seen for the first time since her operation, a photo published by the American press

The next day, another hiccup: the Ministry of Defense mentions on one of its websites that the princess will participate on June 8 in one of the military parades organized for the official birthday of the sovereign.

Obviously taken by surprise, Kensington Palace, which manages Kate and William's agenda, does not confirm, while royal sources affirm that it was not consulted in advance by the government, which ultimately withdrew the mention of Kate's presence.

The communication around Kate's state of health contrasts in any case with the transparency effort led by Buckingham Palace around the cancer from which Charles III suffers.

Although his nature has not been clarified, the king is regularly photographed in the few official functions he continues to perform, mainly interviews with the Prime Minister or foreign diplomats.