Angela Levin has said Kensington Palace will be forced to address the latest image of Princess Kate, as growing speculation mounts on the royals over alleged "manipulation" of the photo.
In a newly released photograph to mark Mother's Day, Prince William and Princess Kate revealed the first official image of her and their children since her major operation in January.
The Princess of Wales underwent planned abdominal surgery at the start of the year, and has been recovering in Adelaide Cottage after almost a fortnight in hospital.
Princess Kate has not officially been seen since December 2023, but was spotted in the passenger seat of her mother Carole Middleton's car last week.
Princess Kate has become the centre of speculation over a new image
GB News / PA
The newly released image, seen on Kensington Palace's social media pages, features Kate with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
However, the image has sparked widespread speculation after appearing to have been "manipulated" in two places. Princess Charlotte's arm and Kate's hands appear to have been altered on the image.
Reacting to the image, Royal biographer Angela Levin made the shock claim the image was "strange" and suggested Prince William may not have been the photographer of the image, despite claiming so on the post.
Levin also suggested that the image may not have been taken in 2024, highlighting Kate's "slim face" in comparison to the surfaced image of the Princess in her mother's car, where Levin says she looked "puffy faced".
Princess Kate features in a newly released image for Mother's Day, taken by Prince William
X / KensingtonRoyal
Levin told GB News: "I think it was strange when they said that Prince William did it, because he's not learnt how to be a photographer. And it's actually brilliantly taken with all the smiles and the laughter."
When asked by host Eamonn Holmes if she believes Kensington Palace will speak out about the image, Levin said: "They're obviously going to have discussions maybe until tomorrow, but they've got to say something and they can make an apology and say they thought it came from the couple and they sent it out without questioning it.
"I think that would be the excuse."
Host Isabel Webster argued that the image is "not the first time" the Royal Family has "touched up a picture", and it "won't be the last".
GB News Royal Correspondent Cameron Walker agreed and noted that "it's not the first time a photo has been manipulated", but the image has caused such speculation due to "Princess Kate's health".
Isabel Webster says it is a 'difficult time' for Princess Kate
GB News
Cameron explained: "There could be a perfectly innocent explanation. They took ten photos and they needed one photo of the kids all looking at the camera at the same time, and they morphed it all into one very clumsily.
"They knew this image would be so scrutinised because it's the first official one we've seen since her abdominal surgery. And all the conspiracy theorists - it's just adding fuel to this fire."
Isabel agreed, adding: "It's fair to say a lot of people will be sorry for Princess Catherine. She was papped last week against her wishes, when she's perfectly entitled to privacy to recover from serious abdominal surgery.
"The week that her uncle has decided to muscle in on her fame, just as she's trying to convalesce, it's a very difficult time for her."
The Princess of Wales has since personally apologised for confusion over the family photograph issued by Kensington Palace saying: “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.”
