Kate Middleton deeply 'upset' and feeling 'awful' after nightmare caused by 'innocent family photo'

The Princess of Wales is reportedly feeling "awful" after the confusion caused by her "innocent" Mother's Day family photo.

After remaining out of the public eye as she recovers following abdominal surgery in January, the Princess of Wales made her return to social media on 10th March with a special family photo. Shared in honour of Mother’s Day, the sweet snap was taken by Prince William and showed a beaming Kate surrounded by Prince George, Charlotte and Louis. This was the first official picture of the Princess to be released this year, though it was sadly somewhat overshadowed when news broke that several picture agencies had withdrawn it, amid concerns that the image had been edited.

Kate issued a personal apology for any confusion caused by the photo, explaining that she does "occasionally experiment with editing". Now it's been suggested that the whole situation has left Kate deeply "upset" and she is said to have just wanted to share the "best" possible photo.

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According to The Times, a Palace insider claimed that the Princess of Wales felt "awful" about the editing and that she'd simply "tried to make it the best it could be". They went on to allege that she had apparently been aware of how important it was for the Mother’s Day snap to be a "nice picture" and suggested that she was also thinking of Prince George, Charlotte and Louis.

The publication added that it’s understood that Kate believed “honesty is the best policy” and wanted to "own up" to the editing amid a flurry of speculation and theories online. Meanwhile, The Mirror reports that a friend claimed the Princess "would likely be upset" by the "furore caused by what was supposed to be an innocent family photograph".

Signing off her apology with her 'C' initial, she declared, "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 future Queen’s message will likely have reassured many fans following weeks of heightened speculation and concern from people online after her surgery. Kensington Palace previously made it clear in a statement that Kate was unlikely to resume public-facing engagements after Easter. They have since reiterated this and confirmed that she is "continuing to do well" in her recovery.

In light of their statement, it seems that the earliest fans should expect to see Kate start undertaking engagements again would be April and even then, it could potentially be more of a gradual return to her full schedule.

The Palace said that she "looks forward to reinstating as many as possible, as soon as possible", which perhaps indicates that they will be carefully considering how many would be best at the time. During her recovery Kate has been out of the public eye and she’s likely got to enjoy spending more time with Prince George, Charlotte and Louis, including on Mother's Day. 

The Prince and Princess of Wales regularly mark Mother’s Day with at least one picture and in 2021 Kate shared a snap of the cake the children had made, as well as one of her as a child with Carole Middleton. It’s not known how they spent Mother's Day this year though it’s of course possible that the kids put their baking skills to the test once again.