The other royal 'photoshop fails' that left fans with raised eyebrows, including Louis' missing middle finger in Waleses' Christmas card - as Kate Middleton's Mother's Day picture sparks frenzy

The apparent 'photoshop fails' in the Mother's Day picture of Kate Middleton is not the first time fans have raised questions about pictures released by the Royals. 

The picture-perfect image of a smiling Kate, 42, surrounded by her three children was supposed to put an end to vicious conspiracy theories swirling online about her condition. 

But it has ended up raising more questions when in an extraordinary development last night, foreign picture agencies including Reuters, AP, Getty and AFP withdrew the picture, saying it may have been digitally manipulated.

The photo taken by the Prince of Wales was officially released by Kensington Palace yesterday but hours later eagle-eyed fans were throwing its authenticity into doubt when they started to point out supposed discrepancies. 

AP issued an alert asking for it to be 'killed' from their system, saying: 'At closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image.' 

The picture-perfect image of a smiling Kate, 42, surrounded by her three children was supposed to put an end to vicious conspiracy theories swirling online about her condition. But some news agencies have pulled the photo due to concerns it had been 'manipulated'

Kate's zip appears to be misaligned on the photo as the top of it is further left and appears significantly lighter than the rest of the zip

A spokesman for the PA news agency said it had not killed the picture on its service but was seeking urgent clarification from Kensington Palace about the manipulation concerns.

Reuters said the picture was being removed from circulation 'following a post publication review'. There is concern in the news industry about the manipulation of photographs using AI technology, although it is not clear whether that happened in this case.

Some royal watchers pointed out that Princess Charlotte's wrist and sleeve of her jumper appeared to have been digitally altered. There also appeared to be an issue with the heel of Charlotte's boot and with the paving behind the family.

Others pointed to Prince Louis' fingers on his right hand being crossed apparently in an unusual way with one of his digits looking shorter than the others. 

One frequently identified 'photoshop fail' was also Kate's missing wedding ring on her left hand and her right hand looking 'blurred', according to posts on X. 

Further aspects pointed out by social media users include the length of Prince George's arms, Princess Charlotte's jumper sleeve looking disconnected from her hand, 'blurry' hair and the late-autumn leaves on the trees not matching up with the claim the photo is recent.

Others said that Charlotte's skirt appears out of place where it meets her jumper as well as Louis' trousers looking digitally altered.

Kensington Palace has refused to comment. 

Charlotte's hair seems to end abruptly on her shoulder on her right despite her hair on the left going on for a few inches

The corner of Charlotte's skirt was pointed out as another 'editing error' by social media sleuths

It appears Charlotte's hand was copied over from another picture as there is an empty space where her sleeve should be

It is not the first time the Waleses' photos have come under the spotlight. Most recently, in December, the family's Christmas portrait was hit with criticism from around the world

People on social media began raising questions about the family portrait with some pointing to what appeared to be extra legs with others saying Louis was missing a finger

Buckingham Palace released a poignant photo in 2020 of the Queen standing side-by-side with Prince Philip to mark the Duke of Edinburgh's 99th birthday. But rumours began to swirl the snap had been photoshopped with people pointing to the shadow on the Queen's hand

It is not the first time the Waleses' photos have come under the spotlight. Most recently, in December, the family's Christmas portrait was hit with criticism from around the world. 

In the snap, William and Kate are seen smiling alongside their sons Prince George, Prince Louis, and Princess Charlotte who is seated in a chair at the front of the group.

Photographed by Josh Shinner, each member of the Wales family is donning a white shirt, adding to the striking monochrome aesthetic. 

Eagle-eyed observers, though, were left puzzled as they focused in on the left hand of Prince Louis and noticed his middle finger appears to be missing.

Others raised questions about William's leg as he appeared to have adopted a wide stance but only his right leg was visible. Similarly, only one of Kate's feet is in view behind the chair Charlotte is perched on.

Many speculated the image had been poorly edited or photoshopped, with one social media user writing: 'While it's a nice family photo, as soon as I looked at it, I noticed Louis' hand. He's missing a finger.' 

However, a royal source told the Mail: 'It's not photoshopped. It seems as if he [Louis]... just bent his finger over. He's certainly not lost a finger – don't worry about that!'

This photograph was shared to mark what would have been the late monarch's 97th birthday last year. (Pictured L-R : back row: Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl Wessex. Second row: Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips and Prince Louis. Front row: Mia Tindall holding Lucas Tindall. The late Queen Elizabeth II and Savannah Phillips)

According to tech chief executive Christopher Bouzy, he believed the image was photoshopped because, he claims, 'you can literally see where two sides of the sofa were spliced together'

According to Christopher Bouzy, writing on Twitter, he believed the 'beautiful' image appears to be Photoshopped

As for William and Kate, it could be that William's left leg was hidden behind Charlotte and Kate was standing with one foot in front of the other.

In 2020, Buckingham Palace released a poignant photo of Queen Elizabeth II standing next to the Duke of Edinburgh to mark Prince Philip's 99th birthday.

The royal picture were snapped in the grounds of Windsor Castle, but bizarre social media claims began to swirl that the image had been photoshopped.

Many focused on the shadow on the Queen's hand, with royal commentators Roberta Fiorito and Rachel Bowie discussing on their Royally Obsessed podcast whether the image looked digitally altered.

Speaking on the Royally Obsessed podcast, Ms Fiorito said: 'For the Duke of Edinburgh's 99th birthday, they released a new picture.

'There are questions going around about whether or not it was Photoshopped, have you seen that?'

Ms Bowie added: 'I did! I saw a bit was coming up about the birthday photo but I just can't imagine that would have happened.

'I feel like they know they would get caught, right?'

Last April, tech chief executive Christopher Bouzy sparked backlash for saying Kate's 'beautiful' portrait of the Queen with her grandchildren at Balmoral had been photoshopped.

The image showed the late monarch posing with eight of her 12 great-grandchildren and was taken just weeks before her death by the Princess of Wales.

The late monarch appeared in her element with Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, James, Earl of Wessex, Lena Tindall, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Isla Phillips, Prince Louis, Mia Tindall, Lucas Tindall and Savannah Phillips. 

Some of the great-grandchildren were missing, including the children of Montecito-based Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the son of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank August and the daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edo Mappeli Mozzi.

Calling on people to 'stop criticising' the snap, Mr Bouzy said: 'Yes, they Photoshopped it, and so what? It isn't easy to get the perfect photo with ten children. It appears they took multiple shots and then edited the photo to make it perfect. I would've done the same.' 

In a later tweet about the snap, which was shared on the official social media accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, he wrote: 'You can literally see where two sides of the sofa were spliced together, and there are pixels on the face that were not properly edited.

'As I stated in my original tweet, I don't see anything wrong with it. But to claim it's not Photoshopped is false. It's been edited.'