What on Earth Is Going On With Kate Middleton? Royal Experts Weigh In

Kate Middleton's statement acknowledging she edited a family portrait has left many questions unanswered.

The Princess of Wales has stepped back from royal duties following abdominal surgery on January 16. Her last public appearance was on Christmas Day.

Social media conspiracy theorists began clamoring for an image of Kate in late February, amid a viral trend suggesting she was missing.

Kensington Palace then released a picture of the princess with her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to mark Mother's Day in the U.K, on March 10, only for her to be forced into the embarrassing admission she had doctored it.

Pictures of Kate in the backseat of a car next to Prince William emerged Monday but the princess' face was turned away from the camera, meaning it was not visible, suggesting the image is unlikely to end the speculation.

Newsweek asked royal experts for their take on the saga.

Afua Hagan, Royal Expert and Broadcaster

"I actually feel sorry for Kate now. It may be she's under so much pressure that her and the kids have to look perfect and have to look great and have to look presentable that she feels the need to Photoshop pictures in that way, which is a shame and speaks to where we are as a society, that everybody has to look great all the time," Hagan told Newsweek.

"Nobody should feel that level of pressure. I also feel Kensington Palace need to step up and take charge of this.

"Come on guys, what are you doing? I feel like they're just sitting back, going 'we'll just let Kate sweep up the mess from this.' Are they bonkers?

"I've spoken to people this morning who say 'at this point we will only accept the Princess of Wales standing outside Kensington Palace.'

"She shouldn't be under that much pressure to do that because the comms are so rubbish."

Robert Jobson, Author of 'Our King' and 'William at 40'

"Someone should have spotted this, or realized the photographs had been doctored, and in doing so realized that in this day and age when people are so hot on AI—and rightly so—that you can't put out doctored pictures," Jobson told Newsweek.

"It's as simple as that. Its a genuine mistake by Kate. She's recovering from surgery but not using professional photographers leaves you open to this sort of mess.

"I think she was trying to do her best to get all the kids in the picture looking smiley and make sure it's the best picture possible but if you're an amateur at this you can, in trying to make it look the best, forget the most fundamental thing that matters—which is authenticity.

"And this leads to people doubting the integrity of the institution and the palace in terms of what they put out, not just in photographs but in information. It's not a great day for the royal family but at the same time, most people will forgive Kate the mistake.

"I'm not sure so many people would forgive the communications department. Absolutely they should release the original image, but is there an original image or is it lots of different images?"

Nick Ede, Brand and Culture Expert

"They were trying to quash rumors and now they've completely fueled them in an even bigger way that has gone around the world because all the picture agencies were saying they wouldn't use it because it was basically a fake," Ede told Newsweek.

"It's really tough for them, there's no way back. The only way forward is to kind of explain themselves which they've tried to do, but people aren't buying it because the palace now aren't going to reveal the actual original image. It's all about trust."

"There's no way back unless she makes a personal appearance before Easter, which I don't think she's going to do.

"From a PR point of view, the comms team in the palace are responsible for all of this, images are manipulated left, right and center if you're a Kardashian or if you're a popstar but not when you're a member of the royal family. And for Kate, a future queen to have to admit to a Photoshop fail is absolutely unprecedented.

"And in the digital age we totally understand that, but nobody has sense checked this against the narrative that's been going on for the last few months about 'where is Kate?'"

Royal Commentator Richard Fitzwilliams

"It's time for the storm, which has been blowing since William's 'personal matter' which led to his pull-out from King Constantine's memorial service and has been centered on Kate, to subside," Fitzwilliams told Newsweek.

"Hopefully some lessons will have been learnt and their public relations team obviously needs an overhaul. It won't blow over totally after this until Kate is back doing royal engagements after Easter, but I was delighted to see how well she looked in the now notorious photograph.

"No one should pander to loathsome trolls and 'lower than vermin' paparazzi. However two and a half months is far too long a period without an official photograph or statement of some sort when there has been a serious illness.

"The royals certainly need privacy but they also need to keep more in touch with their public."

Mark Borkowski, U.K.-based PR consultant and Author of 'Improperganda'

"The problem that exists is a woman's been ill and there's a news vacuum which is being filled by the internet," Borkowski told Newsweek.

"Along comes Mother's Day when they always put a picture out. I think its been totally generated by AI, I don't think it's an AI editing issue, I think it's an AI-created photo.

"Obviously, there's no authenticity and the problem they've got is they're trying to project something, that everything is normal, when perhaps it isn't normal. The woman is still recovering. That's where the trust has gone."

Omid Scobie, Author of 'Endgame' and 'Finding Freedom'

Scobie wrote on X: "It's fair to say that most photos released by the offices of public figures have been retouched in some way, so *if* this was an isolated incident then it would just be an unfortunate error.

"But with the Palace's long history of lying, covering up, and even issuing statements on behalf of family members without their permission (cc: Prince Harry), it's becoming increasingly difficult for the public to believe a word (and now photo) they share. Gaining that back at this point is an almost impossible task."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.