It’s not a blurry paparazzi pic.
After weeks of speculation regarding her health and whereabouts, Kensington Palace released an official photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales — the first one since her abdominal surgery and since she took a step back from her royal duties. The photo was posted to the Kensington Royal social media accounts, and it also serves as Kate Middleton’s first public remarks since January, when she went into the hospital. And no, it’s not a grainy paparazzi picture — unlike the TMZ photo published last week, there’s no question that the woman in this photo is, in fact, the Princess of Wales. But there are other questions surrounding the image’s authenticity.
New photo of Kate Middleton released
The never-before-released snap depicts the Princess of Wales dressed casually in jeans and boots. She’s surrounded by her children, Prince Louis, Prince George, and Princess Charlotte, who are sporting sweaters and big smiles.
“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” the caption reads. “Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C,” it concludes — a more casual reference to Princess Catherine’s full name. A spokesperson for Kensington Palace told the Washington Post that the photo was captured by Prince William “earlier this week.”
Where’s Kate Middleton’s wedding ring?
Some royal enthusiasts quickly noticed that the princess isn’t wearing her wedding ring in the new photo. To be fair, she isn’t wearing any jewelry — as we mentioned before, she’s fairly dressed down compared to how we would see her at a high-profile event.
However, that shouldn’t be cause for alarm — a Palace source said the picture was taken at home. Princess Catherine’s 12-carat sapphire and diamond engagement ring (the same one Princess Diana received when then-Prince Charles proposed to her) is estimated to be worth around $400,000 today, which would be a lot of bling to be sporting on a regular day at home. Plus, the Princess of Wales will regularly remove her ring for certain engagements, like hospital visits, which Kensington Palace has said is “to protect others” against hygiene hazards. She also doesn’t usually wear it during sporting events or to other outings where it could get damaged or lost.
Royal family accused of Photoshop fail
The photo was likely put out to quell rumors, but it’s done just the opposite. The questions surrounding the photo are much bigger than the absence of a wedding ring. On Sunday, users on X began speculating that the picture may not be real — that it’s either Photoshopped or made using AI.
In general, one telltale sign that a picture was created using artificial intelligence is the hands — for all their advancements, image generators still struggle to create realistic-looking hands. To that point, some users noticed that one of Kate Middleton’s hands appears blurry, and have wondered if AI is the culprit.
One blurry hand could probably be overlooked, but there are other oddities. Others pointed out some strange blurring if you zoom in closely on Princess Charlotte’s wrist — and there’s something weird happening next to her arm.
And it seems these concerns aren’t just conspiracy theories: on Sunday evening, multiple photo agencies including Reuters, Getty Images, and the Associated Press pulled the image from circulation over concerns it had been manipulated. They’ve advised media outlets not to use the picture.
“The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace,” the AP told NBC News. “The AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.” Reuters’ photo editors acknowledged that it appeared the photo had been altered, but “could not immediately establish how, why or by whom the alteration had been made.”
The Princess of Wales made an apparent effort to assuage everyone’s doubts on Monday morning, tweeting from her and Prince William’s official account: “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. C.”
Her admission has unleashed a further wave of social media reactions — from jokes about the princess sitting down to Photoshop after a long day of royal duties, to tongue-in-cheek memes about “occasionally experimenting with editing.”
Kate Middleton health update
The new photo doesn’t offer any additional details into the Princess of Wales’ recovery, which shouldn’t come as a surprise, since royal officials have already said she’s “doing well” and that they won’t provide updates unless there is significant news to share. She was last seen in public on Christmas Day, and Buckingham Palace has previously said: “Based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”
