King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands appears to have made light-hearted comments regarding the controversy surrounding the Mother’s Day photo of the Princess of Wales, which was withdrawn by photo agencies due to editing concerns.
As he met with members of the public on Wednesday during a royal engagement, the Dutch monarch was asked about a photo of his own family by a group of children. In response, the 56-year-old joked: “Really? In any case I didn’t Photoshop it!”
Kensington Palace unveiled the first image of the Princess of Wales on Mother’s Day, marking her return since undergoing abdominal surgery in January. Yet, it quickly surfaced that certain aspects of the image had undergone digital modifications.
The alterations led to several photo agencies pulling the image, with a spokesperson for PA saying: “Like other news agencies, PA Media issued the handout image provided by Kensington Palace of the Princess of Wales and her children in good faith yesterday.
“We became aware of concerns about the image and we carried a report about it last night, and made clear that we were seeking urgent clarification about the image from Kensington Palace. In the absence of that clarification, we are killing the image from our picture service.”
Questions around the image became so much that Kate took the rare step of making a public apology, 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. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
The Princess ventured out for the first time since her surgery, seen traveling in a car with her husband, Prince William, en route to the Commonwealth Day service led by the Prince of Wales. Although she didn’t accompany her husband, opting for a private commitment instead, the mother of three is anticipated to return to her full-time duties post the Easter hiatus.
Traditionally, the royal family attends church in Windsor on Easter Sunday, falling on the 31st of March this year. It remains uncertain whether Kate will partake in the service with the family or if she will resume her public engagements following the school holidays of their children. Kensington Palace confirmed on the 17th of January that Kate underwent planned abdominal surgery at the private London Clinic.
The palace released a lengthy statement, which added: “The Princess of Wales appreciates the interest this statement will generate. She hopes that the public will understand her desire to maintain as much normality for her children as possible; and her wish that her personal medical information remains private. “Kensington Palace will, therefore, only provide updates on Her Royal Highness’ progress when there is significant new information to share.
“The Princess of Wales wishes to apologise to all those concerned for the fact that she has to postpone her upcoming engagements. She looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible.”
