Princess Kate photo 'manipulated,' fueling conspiracy theories

A photo of Kate, Princess of Wales, and princes Louis and George and Princess Charlotte, was potentially manipulated, sparking speculation and conspiracy theories.

LONDON — It was a simple family photo apparently intended to show the world that Kate, the Princess of Wales, was OK.

Instead the image released Sunday has only added fuel to a global firestorm of speculation and conspiracy theories, after it emerged that the picture — Kate’s first since having abdominal surgery in January — had been potentially manipulated.

A belated explanation came Monday with a post on Kensington Palace's social media channels.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," said the post, which was signed "C," apparently denoting that it was written by Kate, whose full name is Catherine. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Confusion is one word for the preceding 24 hours, in which the internet guessing game ranged from measured analysis to outright conspiratorial conjecture. This had already been rife after Kate took an extended step back from her royal duties following the unspecified surgery.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/princess-kate-photo-manipulated-conspiracy-theories-rcna142714

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