Kate Middleton's uncle Gary Goldsmith challenges photo 'manipulation' claims on Good Morning Britain

Kate Middleton's uncle, Gary Goldsmith has opened up about what he thinks of the first picture of the Princess of Wales released after her surgery.

The photography of Kate and her children was released by the Palace to celebrate Mother's Day, but has been withdrawn by international picture agencies because of concerns that the image had been manipulated. Speaking on Good Morning Britain about his experience in the Celebrity Big Brother house, Goldsmith challenged claims that the photo was manipulated, describing the picture as "beautiful" and "really genuine" and adding for viewers to "just leave it alone."

His reaction comes just as the Princess of Wales has issued a personal apology for the confusion over the family photography issued by Kensington Palace. Here's everything Gary Goldsmith has said about the Kate Middleton photo.

What has Gary Goldsmith said about Kate Middleton photo?

Speaking to Good Morning Britain hosts Susanna Reid and Ed Balls about the Mother's Day photo, Gary Goldsmith said: "The smiles on faces said it all for me, I thought it was beautiful. Obviously the family wouldn’t be the ones to do any touch-ups, so if that’s gone through some filter before it’s gone out to the broader world, but they wouldn’t be doing photoshopping themselves."

He continued: "But all I was looking at is the faces and the smiles and it just looks like a beautiful family that they are, and they look really genuine, smiles on faces. And this whole 'sleevegate' thing, just leave it alone."

Goldsmith went on to reveal that he had not spoken to his royal niece in "maybe a year". Explaining: "I haven't spoke to Kate in ages. In years, maybe a year. Weddings and funerals is when we see them."

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The millionaire businessman was the first person to be evicted from the Celebrity Big Brother house on Friday (March 8) after he was nominated for eviction by Sharon Osbourne. Goldsmith had been up against The Real Housewives of Cheshire star Lauren Simon. 

Is the Kate Middleton photo manipulated?

The Princess of Wales has personally apologised for confusion over the family photograph issued by Kensington Palace saying: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing."

Questions had been raised over whether Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo may have been manipulated before it was posted on social media by Kensington Palace.

The first picture of the Princess of Wales released since her abdominal surgery in March, was said by the palace to have been taken by the Prince of Wales in Windsor earlier this week. In the post, which was shared on Instagram she said: "Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C."

However, after the picture was released, speculation around whether the image had been manipulated started to grow, with social media users spotting editing errors on parts of the image including Princess Charlotte's wrist and Prince Louis' fingers, as well as Kate's wedding ring being missing.

Foreign news agencies such as AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty are not using the image after issuing a "kill order", 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." The row has lead to further speculation about Kate's health and her whereabouts. Details of her health condition have not been disclosed but Kensington Palace previously said it was not cancer-related and that the Princess wished for her personal medical information to remain private.

Sarah McCann is a Trends Writer for NationalWorld who specialises in stories around TV, Film and Health. If you liked this article you can follow Sarah on X (Twitter) here. You can also share your thoughts in the comment section below.