Following backlash and concerns of image accuracy, the royal Mother's Day photo was pulled from a number of photo agencies on Monday. The image of the Princess of Wales and her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, was shared on social media to mark the day following weeks of speculation about Kate Middleton's health and recovery.
The Princess underwent abdominal surgery in January, and the Palace stated that they would not issue any updates about Kate - offering only that she was expected to return to work after Easter. However, speculation over her health grew rapidly online and eventually the Palace issued a response to the 'wild conspiracy theories' that had started circling - including claims from international journalists that Kate had been in a coma, something they have since refuted.
However, the photo did not quell the interest in the Princess. Instead, it was criticised for appearing edited and a day later Kate issued an apology for any confusion caused, writing: "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."
According to reports, the Princess of Wales is feeling 'awful and sad' about the situation, with one royal insider telling The Times that the mother of three had just 'tried to make it the best it could be' to give the public 'a nice picture'. But many photo agencies were quick to issue kill notices on the image, with the likes of Getty, AFP, Reuters and Associated Press pulling the picture.
The report said: "Upset at the way in which the image, particularly one which involved her children, had been mired in controversy... a shaken princess told aides that she wanted to make amends and claim responsibility for her mistake."
Now, American broadcaster CNN has announced that they will be reviewing all images issued by Kensington Palace in light of the recent editing admission. They have said that they 'expect those images to be accurate' when produced by the Palace for editorial purposes, and that they 'regard it as unacceptable to move, change or manipulate the pixels of an image' as it 'would alter the reality of the situation the image is intended to document'.
The broadcaster confirmed they would be looking at all images distributed by Kensington Palace, stating: "CNN is now reviewing all handout photos previously provided by Kensington Palace."
Kensington Palace has not yet commented.
