Kate Middleton was spotted yesterday only hours after the photo debacle that left royal fans the world over scratching their heads.

If you need to be brought up to speed, a Palace-issued image of the Princess of Wales began circulating on Sunday to celebrate Mother’s Day in the UK. Yet it was soon removed by multiple high-profile photo agencies – Getty Images and the Associated Press included – as they had reason to suspect it had been “manipulated”.

The confusion did little quell rumors over Kate’s well being following her 13-day hospitalization in January for a “planned abdominal procedure”. Updates on the Princess’s condition have come few and far between since then, prompting many to wonder if all is as meets the eye.

And in light of the many conspiracy theories doing the rounds it’s hardly surprising that yesterday’s confusion relating to the aforementioned Mother’s Day picture was such a big deal.

Part of AP’s message read: “At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement image will be sent. Please remove it from all platforms, including social, where it may still be visible.”

The drama then took another turn when Kate herself issued an apology over the image, claiming to have self-edited it.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), the Duchess of Cornwall wrote that she had been the person who doctored the image, saying (via the New York Post): “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” She added: “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

The Princess then ended by stating: “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day” and signed off casually with “C,” for her first name, Catherine.

Even with Kate’s apology, the general consensus online is that something – something potentially significant – is being kept from public knowledge. After all, prior to the surfacing of a grainy image published by TMZ last week, Kate hadn’t been seen in 70 days. Neither are any details as to the aspects of her January surgery readily available.

That’s arguably what makes a reported sighting of Kate yesterday all the more interesting. As per Fox News, the Princess of Wales was snapped in the back of a vehicle alongside Prince William, just hours after she had issued her apology over the photo editing fiasco.

People say that the Princess was headed to a private appointment, while William later joined Queen Camilla and other Royal Family members at the Commonwealth Day Service of Celebration at Westminster Abbey.

Fox say that Queen Camilla and Prince William led the royal procession at the congregation, while King Charles – currently fighting cancer – was not in attendance.

What do you make of the whole Kate Middleton saga? Let us know in the comments box.

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