Photo: Getty Images
Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, was spotted leaving Windsor Castle with her husband, Prince William, on Monday (March 11) hours after apologizing for sharing a doctored photo that broke her months-long silence following a mysterious surgical procedure, the New York Post reports.
Middleton, who hadn't been seen publicly in more than two months after what Kensington Palace described as abdominal surgery, was pictured in a black Land Rover en route to the annual Westminster Abbey where Prince William was expected to attend the annual Commonwealth Day service without her. The Princess issued an apology after sharing a doctored Mother's Day photo of herself and her three children on her social media accounts shared with her husband for Mother's Day in the United Kingdom.
"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," Middleton wrote on the couple's shared X account.
The photo, which showed Middleton, 42, with her sons George, 10, and Louis, 5, and daughter Charlotte, 8, was withdrawn by the Associated Press, Reuters, Getty and AFP after it was initially shared on the couple's social media accounts for Mother's Day in the United Kingdom Sunday (March 10).
"Professional photographer here. Look closely at Princess Charlotte’s wrist. This is what happens when you composite layers in Photoshop. I’m not speculating on why the photo was edited like this, but it’s weird," portrait photographer Martin Bamford wrote on his X account.
The reported withdrawal came months after the royals shared a edited Christmas card in which Prince Louis was missing a middle finger, which Kensington Palace refused to address. The royal couple frequently opts to take their own photos to mark holidays and special occasions, rather than follow prior royal customs of hiring a professional photographer.
Middleton was reported to have spent two weeks in the London Clinic hospital in January following what was described as "planned abdominal surgery" and recover privately until after Easter (March 31), Kensington Palace had previously announced. The reason for the princess' surgery was, however, unknown and her time out of the public eye led to speculation and conspiracy theories.
Middleton was initially spotted publicly in a paparazzi photo shared on March 4 in which she was traveling in a car with her mother, Carole, near Windsor Castle. Gary Goldsmith, Middleton's uncle who had previously appeared on the reality television show 'Celebrity Big Brother,' said his niece was receiving "the best care in the world" while addressing the situation via Time.com.
Kate's reported surgical procedure preceded her father-in law King Charles III's cancer diagnosis, which led to him postponing public engagements while undergoing treatment, in February.