Royal photograph of late Queen Elizabeth II taken by Princess of Wales was 'digitally enhanced at source', says Getty

Photo agency Getty Images has said that a photograph of the late Queen Elizabeth II - taken by Catherine, Princess of Wales - had been "digitally enhanced at the source".

The image, which was shared on Kensington Royal social media channels, showed the late monarch posing alongside her grandchildren at Balmoral Castle in the summer of 2022. While the image was picked up by news agencies at the time, Getty Images has since added an editor's note to the photograph on its service after finding that it had been edited.

In a statement, Getty said: "Getty Images can confirm that in accordance with its editorial policy it has placed an editor's note on a handout image stating the image has been digitally enhanced at source."

It comes after controversy over an image of the Princess of Wales and her children that was shared on Mother's Day, posted as conspiracies about Kate's wellbeing and whereabouts spread online. Questions were raised over the validity of the image after numerous editing error were found, with news agency issuing 'kill orders' on the use of the photograph after confirming that the image had been manipulated.

In a statement posted to social media, Kate admitted to editing the image, saying: "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."