The newly-released photograph of the Princess of Wales came amid online speculation about her health. Kate has not been seen at an official event since Christmas Day.
Major photo agencies have pulled a new image of the Princess of Wales from circulation over concerns it was “manipulated” by “the source”.
The image was circulated by a number of picture agencies on Sunday before Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) told media outlets to “kill” the photo from their systems and archives.
AP has told Sky News the photo shows an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”.
The picture in question was released to celebrate Mother’s Day and shows Kate surrounded by her and Prince William’s three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Kensington Palace has declined to comment after the photo was pulled by picture agencies.
AP told Sky News in a statement: “The Associated Press initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. 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 said it withdrew the picture following a “post-publication review” with a spokesperson saying the agency is “reviewing the matter”.
Meanwhile, AFP said it had “come to light” that the image of the “Princess of Wales and her kids had been altered” and was therefore removed from its systems.
A spokesperson for Getty Images told Sky News: “Earlier today our picture desk identified a problematic image provided to Getty Images by Kensington Palace. We can confirm the image in question was removed from our site in accordance with our editorial policy.”
A spokesperson for the Press Association 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.
Readers on X, formerly known as Twitter, added a community note to a post from the Prince and Princess of Wales’ account which shared the image.
Community notes allow readers to add context to posts to help other users have a better understanding of what they are reading or viewing.
The note reads: “This photo is believed to be digitally altered and as a result many major news outlets have pulled the image from their reports.”
Source:https://news.sky.com/story/picture-agencies-pull-kate-photo-amid-manipulation-concerns-13092352