Kate Middleton Drama Explained: A Timeline of Her Photoshop Controversy, Her Latest Appearance and More

Kate Middleton's Photoshop fail has not only been a source of hindrance for the Princess of Wales, but for Buckingham Palace as well. What was supposed to be a sweet portrait of Kate with her children to celebrate Mother's Day in the U.K. -- while at the same time attempting to put rumors to bed as far as her whereabouts were concerned amid her recovery from abdominal surgery -- exploded into a full-blown controversy that sowed public distrust at the highest levels of the palace.

There was no telling just how much damage Kate's portrait with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, was going to create for her and the palace. But the fallout was swift. Almost in an instant, things went from bad (The Associated Press and other news agencies pulled the photo) to worse (a major global news agency went on the record to say Buckingham Palace is no longer a trusted source), not to mention the unforced error also compounded, yet again, royal infighting while also dredging up headache-inducing headlines for all involved.

It's all a royal mess that began with a pair of events that rocked the palace to its core, events that, unlike now, elicited warmth and well wishes from palace observers.

The Surgeries 

The first alert from Kensington Palace announcing Kate's hospitalization to recover from abdominal surgery went out at exactly 9:04 a.m. EST on Jan. 17. Nearly two hours later -- at exactly 10:51 a.m. EST -- the palace sent out a second alert announcing King Charles III would seek treatment for an enlarged prostate.

In the days and weeks that followed, Brits and those around the world sent the royal figures their well-wishes. On Jan. 29, His Majesty was released from The London Clinic, as was Kate. That same day, the palace announced Kate would not be returning to official royal duties until after Easter, which takes place on March 31 this year.

Queen Camilla shared a health update on Feb. 9, saying Charles was "extremely well under the circumstances." The palace also shared a statement, confirming that Kate was "making good progress" while also expressing the couple's sincerest thanks for the outpouring of support.

But 70 grueling days would come and go before Kate would be seen for the first time (but not in a public setting), prompting speculation regarding her whereabouts. Soon, speculation morphed into conspiracy theories, which forced Prince William's spokesperson to speak out. 

"His focus is on his work and not on social media," the spokesperson told People.

By that point, William, Charles and Camilla had all been in the public eye, but Kate's absence left the public and the internet to come up with a number of theories why. In late February, the palace released a statement sharing that William would miss his godfather, King Constantine II's, funeral due a "personal matter," while also informing the public that Kate was "doing well." 

However, after speculation continued to circulate about the mother of three, the palace released a statement reiterating their comments about her condition. 

"We gave guidance two days ago that the Princess of Wales continues to be doing well," the statement read. "As we have been clear since our initial statement in January, we shall not be providing a running commentary or providing daily updates."

Kate 'Breaks Her Silence'

Finally on March 10, Kensington Palace released a portrait of Kate and her three children in honor of "Mothering Sunday." In the photo, Kate is seen beaming while sitting in a chair outside in jeans and a jacket. All three of her kids are mid-laugh.

According to the palace, the photo was taken by William the week prior in Windsor, England. In her caption, Kate shared a message about her ongoing recovery from abdominal surgery in January.

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months," Kate wrote. "Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C."

The Portrait Is Pulled 

Within hours of the portrait's release, several news agencies around the world, including The Associated Press, pulled the photo from their sites over claims that the image was manipulated. 

"AP initially published the photo, which was issued by Kensington Palace. But AP later retracted the image because at closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards," AP explained. "The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand."

Kate Admits Editing the Portrait

After the AP and a slew of news agencies pulled the photo, Kate admitted to editing the picture.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," Kate wrote in a statement posted on X. "I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C." 

Amid the backlash, a source told ET that Kate admitted to editing the pic to apologize and in order to acknowledge any misunderstanding it may have caused. She wanted to be transparent, the source said of Kate, who has only been seen in public a handful of times since undergoing abdominal surgery in January.

According to the source, the intention with the photo was to thank the public for their support during her recovery and provide a lovely picture of the children. A second source noted that the trolling and criticism after her abdominal surgery had gone a bit too far and the statement from the Princess of Wales should now allow people to move on.

ET later learned that Kensington Palace had no plans to reissue the original unedited portrait. The edited portrait, however, would eventually get a warning label as "misleading" from Instagram. And the fallout continued, when Phil Chetwynd, the global news director at Agence France-Presse, recently told BBC Radio that Buckingham Palace is "absolutely" no longer a trusted source after "clearly violating" the agency's journalistic ethics.

The Car Photo 

The Photoshop controversy was far from over. After the portrait was pulled, Kate and William were photographed together in their car on March 11 on their way to a private appointment.

After the photo made the rounds, online sleuths conjured up another potential controversy when they noted the difference in the color of the brick wall behind the car.

But crisis was averted, when the photo agency that took the photo of William and Kate in their car told ET that while the "image has been cropped and lightened, nothing has been doctored."

All's Well That Ends ...

Well, no one truly knows. Speculation continues to swirl regarding Kate's whereabouts, even if William carries on like it's business as usual.

On March 14, William visited a facility called "West -- or "Where Everyone Sticks Together" -- in London to speak with a group of youngsters about their phone usage and engage in a handful of fun, non-screen related activities. While working on icing a cookie, William made a subtle reference to his wife.

"My wife is the arty one," he confessed. "And my children. My children are more arty than I am."  

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