‘Sussex cheerleader’ Omid Scobie last night tweeted ‘wonder what it would be like if they had a good comms team’ after the Princess of Wales’ Mother’s Day portrait was ‘killed’ by multiple picture agencies around the world.
Kensington Palace had attempted to quell rumours about Kate’s health yesterday by releasing the first official photograph of her since undergoing ‘planned abdominal surgery’ in January.
She was pictured beaming alongside her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, in a photo taken by Prince William in Windsor last week.
But the Palace is today facing questions after the photo was withdrawn by Reuters, AP, Getty, AFP and EPA over claims it may have been digitally manipulated – with fans pointing to ‘errors’ that allegedly prove it has been edited.
The Palace declined to comment last night and royal experts have claimed the public is now likely to ‘question whether health updates can be trusted’.
Endgame author Mr Scobie wrote on X, formerly Twitter, last night: ‘Wonder what it would be like if they had a good comms team.’ In a separate tweet, he described the killing of the photos as ‘mysterious’, adding: ‘No comment from KP yet.’
‘Sussex cheerleader’ Omid Scobie waded into the row over why the portrait of Princess Kate was ‘killed’
Kensington Palace released this photo of Princess Kate and her three children on Mother’s Day
Mr Scobie wrote on X, formerly Twitter , last night: ‘Wonder what it would be like if they had a good comms team.’
It comes after Mr Scobie sparked a royal race row in November when a Dutch translation of his Endgame book appeared to accuse Kate and King Charles of racism after Meghan Markle claimed that ‘concerns’ had been raised about the skin colour of her son Archie in her bombshell Oprah interview in 2021.
Mr Scobie also tweeted yesterday: ‘Plenty to share this year. Needed some time to recharge and work on some new things.’
Without an official response from the Palace, the confusion around the image is likely to fuel online conspiracy theories about Kate which have swirled on the internet since her abdominal surgery.
Royal commentator Peter Hunt said: ‘This is damaging for the royals.
‘They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate.
‘Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.’
The picture shows Kate sitting in a chair with her arms around Charlotte and Louis, who are on either side of her, with Prince George standing behind, as all four smile at the camera.
But there was speculation that edits had been made to the left sleeve of Princess Charlotte’s cardigan, and other areas of the picture also raised concerns about possible manipulation.
In the social media post, Kate thanked the public ‘for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months’.
The Associated Press were the first to issue a ‘kill notification’ over the photo of Kate.
It said: ‘At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent.’
A second news agency, Reuters, also withdrew the image ‘following a post-publication review’. AFP then followed suit by issuing a ‘mandatory kill notice’.
Getty Images became the fourth organisation to remove the photo – and this morning EPA became the fifth.
It appears Charlotte’s hand was copied over from another picture as there is an empty space where her sleeve should be
Kate’s zip appears to be misaligned on the photo as the top of it is further left and appears significantly lighter than the rest of the zip
Charlotte’s hair seems to end abruptly on her shoulder on her right despite her hair on the left going on for a few inches
The corner of Charlotte’s skirt was pointed out as another ‘editing error’ by social media sleuths
A spokesperson for the PA news agency said it had not killed the picture on its service, but was seeking urgent clarification from Kensington Palace about the concerns raised about manipulation.
The photo of the princess is the first released since she was admitted to the London Clinic, the private hospital where the King underwent treatment for an enlarged prostate, for a planned operation on January 16.
Charles, 75, visited his daughter-in-law’s bedside after being admitted himself on January 26, the 11th day of Kate’s stay.
She was also visited by her husband, William.
Kate left the hospital on January 29, almost two weeks later, and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor.
Details of the princess’s condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that Kate wished her personal medical information to remain private.
The 42-year-old future queen was last pictured in public during a Christmas Day walk in Sandringham, Norfolk.
The Princess of Wales has not been seen since she attended the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham
Kate left hospital on January 29 and returned to Adelaide Cottage in Windsor to be reunited with her children almost two weeks after having the surgery. Pictured: Kate and William in September 2022
William has been stepping up royal engagements in Kate’s absence. Pictured: Prince William and Princess Kate are seen at a ceremonial welcome for The President and the First Lady of the Republic of Korea at Horse Guards Parade on November 21 last year
Kate is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter, and William, 41, temporarily stepped back from his royal role to juggle caring for her and their children as she recovered.
He returned to royal duties in February and is expected to carry out an engagement linked to his Earthshot environmental prize on Monday, as well as accompanying the Queen at events to mark Commonwealth Day.
Earlier this month the Army was forced into an embarrassing about-turn after suggesting Kate would attend Trooping the Colour on June 8.
Tickets were being sold for the event, with Kate expected to attend in her role as Colonel of the Irish Guards, the regiment which is trooping its colour this year.
However, it is understood the Army did not seek approval from Kensington Palace before publishing the page, and the website was subsequently updated to remove the reference to her.