Rumors of Kate Middleton’s Disappearance Pick Up After Release of Digitally Altered Photo

For weeks, social media users have been poking fun at the conspiracy theories surrounding Kate Middleton’s supposed disappearance. However, the situation took an odd turn when Kensington Palace was accused of releasing a digitally altered photo of the Princess of Wales.

Middleton has been away from the public eye after undergoing abdominal surgery in January. Kensington Palace released an official statement confirming the operation was “planned” and that it had gone well. While Middleton was in recovery, the announcement noted she would be stepping away from all her public engagements, likely until Easter. However, long before Easter was on the horizon, experts on the royal family began expressing concern about the Princess’s absence. The fact that she hasn’t been seen publicly since Christmas Day has stirred rumors that she’s “missing” or has disappeared.

There was very little evidence that Middleton was anywhere besides recovering privately, as Kensington Palace announced. Still, experts pointed out some oddities about her lack of an official statement or personal message of gratitude for well wishes. Concern was further raised when her husband, Prince William, abruptly withdrew from his godfather’s memorial service, citing a “personal matter.” While there was some genuine concern about Middleton’s whereabouts, most dismissed the matter as a conspiracy theory and began making memes, coming up with the most outlandish explanations for where the Princess was. However, the latest development in her alleged disappearance has left many confounded.

Kate Middleton photo recalled for digital edits

March 10th marked Mother’s Day in the UK, resulting in Kensington Palace releasing a photo of Middleton with her three children to commemorate the holiday. The photo, which was allegedly taken by Prince William, garnered quite a bit of interest, as it is the first photo of the Princess taken and released publicly in almost three months. However, it didn’t take long for viewers to discover a number of strange anomalies in the photo.

The most notable issue was that if one zooms in on Princess Charlotte’s left hand, one will see that a portion of the sleeve/arm is missing, seemingly having been erased. Upon closer inspection, one will notice many more inconsistencies. The floor pattern and pattern on Prince Louis’ sweater appear skewed and Charlotte’s skirt juts out weirdly, while Middleton’s wedding ring is missing, and the tree in the background has leaves in March, despite most trees regrowing their leaves by May.

Confirming viewers’ suspicions, The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse all recalled the photo. They issued what is known as a “kill notification,” requesting clients and outlets to refrain from sharing the picture due to the high chance that it had been digitally manipulated. Social media quickly erupted into chaos and conspiracy theories as viewers questioned why the Palace would release a very obviously manipulated photo of the Princess of Wales and what prompted outlets like AP to issue a rare kill notification. It certainly did nothing to reassure viewers waiting for a glimpse of Middleton that she is all right.

Soon, Middleton released a statement to her and Prince William’s X account, claiming that she had experimented with editing the photo. She apologized for any confusion it caused and wished everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.

Of course, the statement is hardly reassuring as users questioned whether Middleton actually penned it. The lack of an actual, unedited photo means there have been no confirmed sightings of Middleton since Christmas. Meanwhile, some conspiracy theories believe that the edits were far more than a little bit of photoshop from an “amateur photographer.” One professional social media manager claimed that whoever edited it superimposed Middleton’s face from a Vogue cover into the family portrait. Another user alleged that the photo was actually taken in November and edited to make it look current.

Needless to say, even those most skeptical of the whole Middleton debacle must admit that it is very strange that the first publicly released photo of the Princess in months was significantly edited and may not have even been taken on Mother’s Day. One could understand when the Palace was simply silent on Middleton’s health, as she should be able to recover privately. However, for the Palace to release the photo without realizing Middleton’s alleged poor editing is very strange.

It’s a difficult situation, though, because Middleton’s privacy should be respected above all else. If she doesn’t wish for photos to be released of her during her recovery, then the Palace can’t simply heed the internet’s calls for photographic evidence of her well-being. Technically, she still isn’t supposed to appear publicly until the end of the month. Hence, it may still be weeks before the mystery is officially put to rest.

(featured image: Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty)