Princess Catherine's edited photo which she shared in honor of Mother's Day in the UK has made headlines worldwide, and one fan has broken down why she believes the picture may have been taken all the way back in last fall.
The Princess of Wales has kept a low profile since January after she underwent abdominal surgery, and is expected not to resume official duties until after Easter.
There have been minimal sightings of the Princess in the months since her surgery, however, the Palace did share an image of her with her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, to mark UK Mother's Day, which they claimed had been taken by Prince William in "2024".
However, international photo agencies soon refused to circulate the image over claims it was edited, leading Princess Catherine to release a statement claiming that she had edited the photograph herself.
She said at the time: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 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."
Fans had also noticed that there were several mistakes in the editing, including one of Princess Charlotte's sleeves disappearing, as well as blurring around her and Kate's hair.
Since Catherine has been missing from the public eye for several weeks, conspiracy theorists have been speculating about her whereabouts and the circumstances for her taking time out from the spotlight.
Of course, with the renewed controversy surrounding the edited photograph, internet sleuths were quick to analyze the image - and some believe that the photo was actually taken long before 2024, which its caption had claimed.
A TikToker called Allyn Aston took to the video-sharing platform to break down why she believes that the photo was actually taken last fall and manipulated to look different enough to be passed off as a new snap.
Alleging that the picture was actually taken following a charity outing the Princess and her kids had taken in November 2023, Allyn explained: "I have a strong suspicion that this 'new' photo of Kate Middleton and her children was taken in November 2023 [based] on the outfits.
"There is ample evidence of bad Photoshop throughout this photo and it is my personal opinion that it is because it is old and they try to change the outfits so that it didn’t look like a match."
Her video has racked up over 1.4 million views in just a day, as she pointed out the similarities between the outfits Kate and Charlotte were wearing on that day, alleging that the color of the Princess of Wales's jumper had been digitally altered from white to dark blue.
Comparing the edited photo to a video from the day, which was released in December, Allyn pointed out that the Princess was wearing the same jeans and boots in both, and that the white turtleneck jumper she had on was uncannily similar in style to the dark blue one she wore in the image.
Drawing on fashion blogs that had tracked down the exact jumper Kate was wearing on her visit to the Baby Bank, Allyn revealed that it does not come in darker shades.
She explained: "Yes, I know a lot of turtlenecks look the same, but I do believe that this was Photoshopped to be darker and it was just that cream sweater, because they don’t make it in another color, they make it in cream and in camel."
See the original video from the charity event below:
And it wasn't just Catherine's outfit that was uncannily similar, as she also pointed out that Princess Charlotte was also wearing the same boots, tights, and - crucially - red top with a ruffled neckline as she was wearing in the doctored image.
"It doesn’t stop there, because take a look at the shoes that her daughter was wearing that day," she told her followers. "These are the same exact shoes and probably the same tights because the photos are a little bit saturated and I can’t see the ribbing in the original one — but it’s definitely the same shoes."
She added that she believes a cardigan had been added on over the top in the Mother's Day image, and pointed out that Charlotte's skirt appeared to have been digitally altered to look like a checked material, with part of it appearing to be one of the most "glaring" giveaways that the image was Photoshopped as it did not sit right on her body in the photo.
Allyn also noted that Prince George's outfit was also pretty similar on both occasions, with him wearing a checked shirt under a sweater, which she believed had been digitally altered to look like a darker color in the Mother's Day snap.
She explained: "It’s weird to me that Kate is wearing a sweater that looks suspiciously exactly like that cream sweater except just happens to be darker, with the same exact shoes, and the same exact kind of looking pants, and then her daughter’s wearing the same exact sweater with the ruffled neck, with the same exact shoes, and possibly the same tights."
The TikToker added in a follow-up video that her followers had also pointed out that Charlotte appeared to have a white bracelet peeking out from under her cardigan sleeve which matched one she was wearing to the charity in November.
She also noted that the shirt Prince Louis was wearing was a similar pattern to the one in the image, as well the jeans he is wearing, however, acknowledged that the shoes he had on were different, though that could have been down to him changing them or them being edited to look like a different shoe entirely.
Another separate theory that has also circulated is some suspect that Kate's face in the edited image had actually been lifted from her 2016 Vogue magazine cover as the two photos appeared strikingly similar.
While the Prince and Princess of Wales have yet to speak out publicly about the claims, barring Catherine's acknowledgment that she had edited the photo, a source close to the Palace told People: "[Catherine] has apologized and graciously so.
"She has done something that 99% of us do — and we don’t have the scrutiny that they do. She might be a member of the royal family, but she’s also a human being. If you’ve just had an operation, you want to look your best with the first photograph that’s published for the outside world."
