Prince William and Kate Middleton have dominated the headlines this week as a result of the controversy surrounding their Mother's Day photo. The image, featuring the Princess of Wales and the couple's three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - was posted on their social media account on Sunday to mark the occasion, and also arrived following weeks of speculation about Kate's health and recovery.
However, shortly after its release multiple photo agencies including Getty, Reuters and Associated Press issued a kill notice to remove the image with concerns over editing and 'manipulation'. A day later, Kate issued an apology and stated that 'like many amateur photographers, [she does] occasionally experiment with editing' and news agencies have confirmed they will now be reviewing all material issued by Kensington Palace.
While the photo was initially deemed to be the Palace's attempt to quell speculation, the editing mishap has only fuelled what aides have called 'wild conspiracy theories' and have reportedly left the Princess feeling 'awful and sad' about the situation.
In the days that have followed, a number of royal columnists and correspondents have claimed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle should publicly comment on the scandal, with one PR expert telling the Mirror that he would advise the Duchess of Sussex to 'speak loud and passionate in defence of Kate'.
An article was then published by Page Six which claimed that 'sources close to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry' had said: "This isn't a mistake Meghan would ever make. She has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail... If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue, they would have been annihilated. The same rules do not apply to both couples."
Now, the Sussexes have spoken out about the situation for the first time since Sunday. In response to the Page Six quotes, a spokesperson for Archewell - Harry and Meghan's charitable venture - told Newsweek that the information was not provided by the Sussexes. They said: "With respect to Page Six, that did not come from us."
The couple's pregnancy photographer Misan Harriman - who captured the couple when they announced they were expecting their second child in 2021 - has also been forced to deny that his photos were digitally manipulated for their shoot, stating on X: "To see an article saying, as fact, that I did what I did not do is extraordinary to me. And then to try and merge it with this current news cycle of what’s happening is just—is tragic to see."
