Kate Middleton: Kensington Palace refuses to comment after news agencies pull Mother's Day image over 'manipulation'

Kensington Palace has refused to comment amid an ongoing row over a reportedly "manipulated" image of Catherine, Princess of Wales alongside her children on Mother's Day.

The picture, which was said to have been taken by Prince William of his three children - Princes George and Louis, and Princess Charlotte - and Kate, was released to the media as part of Mother's Day celebrations on Sunday, March 10. It came amid widespread speculation over Kate's wellbeing following abdominal surgery in February.

The image showed Kate sat in a chair, flanked by her children - Prince Louis on the left of her and Princess Charlotte on the right. Prince George stood behind his mother in the image with his arms over her shoulders, with all flashing big smiles.

However, shortly after the picture was released, online speculation started to grow again over parts of the image which some claimed to be altered or even "AI-generated". Eagle-eyed viewers spotted editing errors on parts of the image including Princess Charlotte's wrist and Prince Louis' fingers, as well as Kate's missing wedding ring on her left hand and the unusual blurriness on her right hand as it gripped Prince Louis' waist.

The situation escalated when major foreign news agencies such as AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty all issued a 'kill order' on the image, requesting that news organisations do not use it in coverage due to concerns over image manipulation. The AP update on Sunday evening read: "Mandatory kill. Due to an editorial issue this photo by the Prince of Wales has been withdrawn... and may no longer by used in any manner. Please immediately remove it from all your online services, stop using it in any other fashion and delete it from your servers."

Join the thousands of people who’ve signed up for a National World newsletter

Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the situation as of yet. UK-based news agency PA has said that it had not issued a 'kill order' on the picture but is seeking urgent clarification from the palace over the claims made.

The row has done little to quell public speculation of Kate's whereabouts and wellbeing, which has ignited in the past few weeks following her surgery. When asked about the speculation, Prince William said that he was focused "on his work and not on social media".

Gary Goldsmith, Kate's maternal uncle, also skirted around the issue during a stint as a housemate on the current series of Celebrity Big Brother. Goldsmith, who was the first contestant to be evicted on Friday evening (March 8), told fellow housemate Ekin-Su Culculoglu when she asked 'where's Kate?': "Because she doesn't want to talk about... The last thing I'm going to do is... there's a kind of code of etiquette. If it's announced, I'll give you an opinion."