Photo of Queen Elizabeth II With Grandchildren Taken by Kate Middleton Was Manipulated, Agency Says

Following Princess Kate Middleton's photo editing debacle, another royal family portrait has been called into question.

Getty Images issued a statement on Monday, March 18, revealing that a photo shared via the official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account in April 2023 was manipulated. "Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor's note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source," a spokesperson for the agency told The Telegraph.

The photo in question showed Queen Elizabeth II surrounded by younger generations of the royal family. "Today would have been Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth's 97th birthday," read the caption of the April 2023 Instagram post. "This photograph - showing her with some of her grandchildren and great grandchildren - was taken at Balmoral last summer."

Kate, 42, was credited as the photographer. Her three children with Prince William — Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5 — were among those featured in the pic with the late queen. (Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's two children were notably absent from the portrait.)

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According to The Telegraph, there are "several inconsistencies" within the image, including a portion of Elizabeth's skirt pattern that does not match. The outlet highlighted six errors in total.

Getty's statement added to the skepticism surrounding the royal family as Kate continues to recover from her abdominal surgery. Kensington Palace announced in January that Kate would remain out of the public eye until after Easter while she recuperates from her "planned" operation. Few details were given about the nature of her procedure.

Prior to her hospitalization, Kate was last seen in December 2023. Following the palace's call for privacy, theories about Kate's condition and her whereabouts began to flood social media. Reps for both Kate and William, 41, attempted to quiet the speculation.

"Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the princess' recovery and we'd only be providing significant updates," a spokesperson for Kate noted in a February 29 statement. "That guidance stands."

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In a separate statement, William's rep added that his "focus is on work and not on social media."

While Kate has not addressed her condition directly, she has been spotted on multiple occasions in blurry photos. She was first seen post-op sitting in the passenger seat of a car with her mother, Carole Middleton, on March 4 and was photographed with William leaving Windsor Castle one week later. Grainy footage of the couple walking at a local farmer's market was published by TMZ on Monday, with onlookers claiming the princess looked "happy" and "relaxed."

A family photo uploaded earlier this month in honor of Mother's Day added another layer of drama when several international news agencies received a notice to "kill" the image from publication. Kate later issued a statement regarding accusations that the photo was manipulated.

"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. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day," she wrote via X on March 11.