Kate Middleton likely in 'fragile mental and physical state' according to royal expert

A royal expert has claimed that Kate Middleton is likely in a "fragile mental and physical state," and feeling "feeling miserable" after her Mother's Day portrait went viral for all the wrong reasons, with many claiming the photo had been heavily edited.

Photo agency AP retracted the photo of the Princess of Wales with her three children on Sunday, saying, "At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image."

Kate confirmed the photo had been edited, taking to her Instagram Stories to share an unprecedented statement that read, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion with the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.

"I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother's Day," she added, signing off simply with, "C."

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Kate 'must be feeling absolutely miserable'

Social media has been ablaze with theories about what has been happening with Kate, who underwent abdominal surgery in January, and is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter. Until last week, she had not been seen in public since Christmas.

"She must be feeling absolutely miserable," royal reporter Penny Junor told GB News, adding that she believed the speculation about Kate's whereabouts was in danger of becoming "bullying".

While the public has called for the unedited image to be released, it's unlikely this will ever happen.

"Obviously, the palace never want to feel pressured or pushed into doing something," Penny said. "I do think that it would be a good idea do a little video clip on Instagram or something in a day or two.

"But I do think we are in danger of bullying a lady who is trying to recover from a very serious operation."

"She was photographed yesterday in the car with William (and) she didn’t look that happy. She must be under intense pressure now – whenever she’s going to be seen in public," she added. "The pressure has doubled and redoubled and I think she’s in a fragile mental and physical state and we should lay off here."

Social media goes wild over Kate's Photoshopping

Social media users have shared their many theories on Kate and her Photoshopping scandal, with the Princess of Wales trending on Twitter for around a week now.

Many people have also pointed out that Meghan Markle had to put up with years of bullying, and the British media never left her alone. Others are also confused as to why Prince William was given the photo credit, yet Kate has taken responsibility for the Photoshop fails.

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