Kate’s allies say furore over edited picture has been deeply ‘upsetting’ and left the Princess shellshocked

The Princess of Wales is shocked by the fuss surrounding her Mother’s Day photo.

Several well-placed sources in royal circles have told the Mail that Kate and her team have found the public fallout from Prince William’s ‘edited’ photo of her with their children deeply ‘disturbing’.

One said that while they acknowledged a mistake had been made, many felt it was time to “move on” and let the princess focus on her recovery from abdominal surgery and her children.

They said: ‘Everyone, including the princess, is a bit shocked by what happened.

‘A mistake was made, but she raised her hand and apologised. It’s been very disturbing all around.

“But many people feel it is time to acknowledge that the mistake was made in good faith, as is her apology, and move on.”

The furor erupted after six of the world’s biggest photo agencies were this week forced to ‘kill’ the photo – which was taken on Friday afternoon at the Adelaide Cottage home in Windsor, Wales – over fears it had been digitally ‘manipulated’.

It is against industry regulations to distribute something that may have been materially modified from the original image.

William and Kate often pay personal tributes on Mother’s Day, but it was also hoped that a new image of the princess – officially the first since Christmas Day – would put to bed vicious rumors on social media about her condition.

In recent weeks, internet trolls have spread a slew of scandalous smears about her well-being, which have now become the subject of mainstream speculation, even on the BBC.

Kensington Palace has not deviated from its initial announcement in January that the future queen had undergone ‘planned abdominal surgery’ and, although she was recovering well, it was unlikely she would be able to resume her official duties until after Easter.

However, their decision not to offer any major updates has prompted trolls and critics of the royal family to spread conspiracy theories on social media.

Although the new photo, which the Palace first posted on their own social platforms before being distributed to photo agencies, was initially widely welcomed, amateur internet sleuths began to notice a series of discrepancies indicating that someone had tried to edit the photo before publication to change.

These include placing Princess Charlotte’s wrist and sleeve, and Prince Louis’ fingers.

As these developments began to be reported by news websites, photo agencies including AP, AFP, Reuters and Getty Images launched their own investigations.

On Sunday evening, several people were forced to issue a notice to withdraw the photo, fearing it had been manipulated “by the source.”

As the feud grew overnight, the princess personally took to social media Monday morning with an unprecedented mea culpa: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.

“I wanted to apologize for any confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone who celebrated had a happy Mother’s Day. C’.

While her clearly sincere apology has mollified some, critics say the debacle has damaged the palace’s reputation for honesty.

But it’s clear that many in the royal family and beyond are now circling their wagons around the princess.

Multiple sources have told the Mail that while Kate has no personal presence on social media, she has inevitably become aware of some of what has been said in recent weeks and has, understandably, found it distressing.

She is believed to be ‘disappointed’ at what happened after attempting to ‘just put up a nice photo of her children’.

But she now wants to focus on “what is important in her life – her children – and her recovery.”

Another source reportedly said she just wanted the image to be “perfect” for her children, who she is so proud of, knowing the photo would be so publicly scrutinized.

A third supporter told the

Mail: ‘It was a mistake, although I would say that retouching or editing photos is very common in the news industry, but also at home.

“That’s not taking away what happened. Lessons will have been learned. But from a social media perspective, things have gotten a bit out of hand and now it’s time to draw a line under it.

‘With the amount of pressure and criticism this poor woman is currently under, she just wanted to do the best for her children.

“This really won’t help her recovery.”

While some have called for ‘heads to roll’ at the palace, an insider told the Mail ‘that would never happen’.

‘The Prince and Princess are fiercely loyal to their staff and would never leave any of them hanging out to dry. That’s just not their style,” they said.

“The princess also wanted to tell the truth, which was the most important thing, and she did.”

In a bizarre twist, the New York Post reported yesterday that people close to Meghan were apparently wading into the furor.

They quoted the unnamed source as saying: ‘This is not a mistake Meghan would ever make’ and argued that the incident was an example of double standards when it came to the media’s treatment of the Duchess of Sussex.

“If Harry and Meghan had ever faced the same problem, they would have been destroyed,” the source said.

‘The same rules do not apply to both couples. This is not a mistake Meghan would ever make… she has a keen eye and a whimsical eye for detail.”