Kate Middletonwas seen leaving Windsor Castle withPrince Williamhours afterapologizingfor “any confusion” around herMother’s Day photo.
PEOPLE understands that Princess Kate was heading to a private appointment.
Prince William stepped out on Monday with members of the royal family for the annualCommonwealth Day Service of Celebrationat Westminster Abbey in London, which his wife was not expected to attend as the Princess of Wales postponed public duties during her private recovery followingabdominal surgery.
Prince William and Kate Middleton leave Windsor on March 10, 2024.GoffPhotos.com
GoffPhotos.com
The sighting of Princess Kate with her husband came after trouble erupted aroundthe first official pictureof her since the surgery took place on Jan. 16.
However, speculation surfaced as some wondered if the picture was edited due to several inconsistencies such as the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand, Prince Louis’ sweater pattern and blurring around Princess Kate’s hair, among other hiccups.
Princess Kate personally apologized in a statement shared online.
Kate Middleton visits Nottingham Trent University on Oct. 11, 2023.Chris Jackson/Getty
Chris Jackson/Getty
“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,” the Princess of Wales wrote in a post shared on social media around 10:30 a.m. local time on Monday. She signed the note “C,” shorthand for Catherine, indicating the personal nature of the message.
Kate Middleton’s 2024 Mother’s Day photo with Prince Louis, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
The Prince and Princess of Wales/Instagram
A palace insider downplayed the PR crisis,telling PEOPLE exclusivelythat although the situation is a “bump in the road, it’s not an earthquake.”
“She has apologized and graciously so,” the insider says. “She has done something that 99% of us do — and we don’t have the scrutiny that they do.”
“Think of the level of scrutiny of pictures of her, as people pore over them,” the insider continues. “You’re always on display and always got to be perfect.”
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage?Sign up for our free Royals newsletterto get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Mark Borkowski, a London-based public relations and crisis communications expert, tells PEOPLE thesituation is “pretty damning.”
“The difficulty now is because there is so little information about what’s happening to Kate, if they were going to project things are all normal in this way — with a photo that is now deemed to be fake — it is pretty damning about the floundering and the poor decision making that’s going on,” he says.
Kate Middleton with her family on Christmas 2023.Samir Hussein/WireImage
Samir Hussein/WireImage
The Princess of Wales' last official outing was for the royal family’s traditional walk to church on Christmas Day.
source: people.com
