- Kate has largely not been seen since Jan 17 when she had abdominal surgery
- A picture of Prince Louis on his sixth birthday is expected on April 23
- The Princess publicly took the blame for the photoshop fail on Mother’s Day
Kate Middleton could address the mystery surrounding her health at an upcoming public engagement next month, her close friends have said.
The Princess of Wales has largely not been seen since she underwent major abdominal surgery on January 17, leading to a tsunami of speculation over her unknown health condition.
She then publicly took the blame for the family photograph released by Kensington Palace on Mother’s Day, which led six of the world’s top picture agencies including the Press Association to pull the photo from their wires and libraries amid concern that the ‘source has manipulated the image’.
Despite this tumultuous few weeks for the Royal Family, it is expected that they will still uphold the tradition of releasing a new photograph to mark their children’s birthdays, the next being Prince Louis on April 23.
‘They appreciate the public’s love and affection for their children and know there is a public appetite to see them on their birthdays,’ an aide told the Sunday Times.
Kensington Palace released the picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery
Kate posted the apology on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ Instagram account
Although it is understood that there is no ‘firm decision’ has been taken as the couple has been shaken after the hysteria around Kate’s health, alongside the wild and unfounded conspiracy theories on social media about the state of her marriage due to the ‘missing wedding ring’.
A source close to Kate claimed all she intended to do was ‘bring a bit of joy’ and release a reassuring image to thank the public for their ongoing support.
Another friend insists that it was just someone trying to project the polished image that the public has come to expect: ‘It’s a photo that she knew everyone would pore over so she pored over it herself — she likes trying to make the family look the best they can.’
Earlier this week, Kate made the unexpected decision to publicly take responsibility of the mishap and issue a personal apology on Instagram: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,’ she wrote.
A friend and adviser to the couple said: ‘If you want to call out the mistake, it was Kate not telling her team that she’d done it [edited the photo].
‘But she came out and said sorry. The photo was a misstep, even with something as innocent as that you should disclose altering it.
‘But in the history of image-cropping and photo-altering to tell a story, a lot of the reaction from picture agencies was hypocritical.’
Prince and Princess of Wales with their three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in Norfolk
William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor for Westminster Abbey to attend The Commonwealth Day Service
Now sources within the royal circles are warning of the negative affect rumours may be having on the future Queen as she recovers from her major surgery in January.
One insider said: ‘I worry about all this attention on Catherine. She did not look happy at all in the car on Monday.’
Kate was seen in the backseat of a car with her husband as he left Windsor to travel to London for two public engagements.
The Mail understands she was on route for a ‘private appointment’ and she did not accompany William publicly.
Despite calls for the original image to be published, Kensington Palace insisted it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
It comes after further details emerged about the photo shoot, with William having taken the picture in just a 40-minute window on Friday before the Princess edited it twice in Photoshop to ‘make it the best it can be’.
The Prince of Wales took the picture of his smiling family on a £2,900 Canon camera before Kate made edits to improve the photo ahead of its public release on Instagram on Sunday.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond suggested Kate ‘must feel under intense pressure now whenever she’s going to be seen in public’ after her major surgery in January.
Also rallying round Kate today was royal expert Angela Levin who praised her for being ‘honourable’.
