Catherine, Princess of Wales, apologized for any “confusion” she may have caused with edits made to an image shared on Sunday.

The image of Catherine and her children was withdrawn by various news agencies hours after it was shared, after allegations the photo had been manipulated grew. The British royal, who has been recovering from abdominal surgery in January, said in a statement on Monday she does “occasionally experiment with editing” in explaining the altered image.

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

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024

“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,” Catherine said.

The photo shared to mark Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom thanked citizens for the “kind wishes and continued support over the last two months,” but oddities with the photograph were noticed shortly after it was shared.

Inconsistencies with the image in certain parts, such as the zipper on Catherine’s jacket being misaligned and Princess Charlotte’s wrist appearing to be edited, led several new agencies, including the Associated Press, Getty, Reuters, and the Agence France-Presse, to kill the photo.

The Associated Press said it had withdrawn the photo because the manipulation of the image by the source did not meet its standards, but did not claim that the image itself was fake.

The controversy comes as the health of several senior royals has been under scrutiny, and conspiracy theories swirl online. The hastily edited image of Catherine and her children only fanned the flames of internet concern, rather than quell worries about the Princess of Wales.

When Catherine had abdominal surgery in January, Kensington Palace said she was “unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.” Her surgery came at roughly the same time King Charles III was hospitalized for a procedure regarding an enlarged prostate.

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Last month, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles had been diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer after tests performed during the January hospital stay. The palace said in February that he “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”

Catherine’s husband, William, Prince of Wales, is next in line for the British throne.