Another Kate Middleton photograph is at the center of a media storm.

A family photo of the Princess of Wales and her children was withdrawn by international photo agencies by late Sunday over fears it had been "manipulated."

The withdrawal of the image, released to mark British Mother's Day, has fueled further speculation about the princess, who was hospitalized in January.

It comes less than a week after an apparent paparazzi shot sparked online speculation.

Official Kate Photo Is Released

The photo was released on Sunday, Mother's Day in the U.K., showed Kate and her children Prince George, aged 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.

The Palace said: "A new picture of the Princess of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis was posted on our social media channels today to mark Mother's Day. The image was taken in Windsor earlier this week by the Prince of Wales."

The photo, taken by Prince William for Mother's Day, was the first official photo of Kate to be released by Kensington Palace since her surgery in January.

The princess has been absent from public duties since Christmas Day.

Kensington Palace announced in mid-January that she had been hospitalized for planned abdominal surgery and was not expected to resume royal duties for months. The palace said her treatment was not cancer-related.

'Manipulated' Photo Pulled

Four international news agencies—Getty Images, Reuters, AFP, and Associated Press—urged media outlets to remove the image from circulation over concerns it had been altered. U.K. news agency PA later followed suit.

AP released a "Kill Notification" that said: "At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent."

Some commented that Princess Charlotte's left sleeve did not seem to align with her hand, that Kate's wedding ring appeared to be missing, that Kate's right hand was blurred, and that the children's ring fingers were crossed or obscured.

A wall near Louis's leg in the background also appeared to be disconnected.

Kate's wedding ring missing from her left hand could be explained if the photo was flipped, as some social media commentors have suggested.

Joe Davies, founder of digital marketing agency FatJoe, told Newsweek on Monday that the image "is potentially photoshop and not AI."

"In this image specifically the fingers are the issue. See the image of the child on the left [Prince Louis]. His fingers are unnaturally positioned.

"The background, step, is not complete or is uneven, the skirt on the child on the right [Princess Charlotte] doesn't fall right. Kate's left hand is blurry, but not the rest of the image."

What Has Kate Middleton Said?

Kensington Palace released a statement on Monday that seemed to confirm the photo had been edited.

A post on X, formerly Twitter, from the account for the Prince and Princess of Wales said "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."

Kate has frequently spoken of her love of photography and took over Queen Elizabeth II's patronage of the Royal Photographic Society in 2019.

Newsweek has contacted the Palace for further comment.

The Context and What's Next

The photo being withdrawn comes the week after another picture sparked intense online speculation. That image, seemingly taken with a long lense, appeared to show Kate for the first time since her hospitalization, reportedly in car near Windsor Castle.

This photo inspired A.I. manipulation, Newsweek discovered. Edited versions were shared online as alleged proof that Kate was not in the car.

Agencies withdrawing the official Mother's Day family photo has already inspired online speculation and theories about the royals.