Kate Middleton is 'recovering well and will be back by Easter', royal insiders claim - but add Princess of Wales needs to be 'left in peace' and is struggling to deal with Photoshop furore

Kate Middleton is recovering well and will be back by Easter, royal insiders have claimed - but they say she needs to be left in peace as she struggles to deal with the aftermath of Mother's Day photo row.

Kate publicly took the blame for the family photograph released by Kensington Palace on Sunday as she issued an apology for the 'confusion'.

It came after a public explosion of conspiracy theories, after six of the world's top picture agencies including the Press Association then sensationally pulled the photo from their wires and libraries amid concern that the 'source has manipulated the image'.

But now sources within the royal circles are warning of the negative affect rumours may be having on the future Queen as she recovers from her major surgery in January.

'It’s an awful lot to be under all of this public scrutiny when you are recovering from major surgery,' one told American celebrity news site Page Six.

William and Kate were spotted leaving Windsor for Westminster Abbey yesterday afternoon

On Sunday, Kensington Palace released the first picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery

Kate posted the apology on the Prince and Princess of Wales' Instagram account yesterday

'The rumor mill — particularly on social media — has gotten out of control, but Kate is recovering well and she will be back by Easter. She just needs to be left in peace.'

Another insider added: 'I worry about all this attention on Catherine. She did not look happy at all in the car on Monday.'

Despite calls for the original image to be published, Kensington Palace insisted it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.

It comes after further details emerged about the photo shoot, with William having taken the picture in just a 40-minute window on Friday before the Princess edited it twice in Photoshop to 'make it the best it can be'. 

The Prince of Wales took the picture of his smiling family on a £2,900 Canon camera before Kate made edits to improve the photo ahead of its public release on Instagram on Sunday. 

In the first official image released since Kate's 'planned abdominal surgery' on January 16, MailOnline identified sixteen separate edits, including issues with the princess's jeans zipper and right hand - amid claims the photo was digitally altered. 

Yesterday Kate was seen in the backseat of a car with her husband as he left Windsor to travel to London for two public engagements.

The Mail understands she was on route for a 'private appointment' and she did not accompany William publicly.

It comes just hours after a royal expert claimed The Princess of Wales is in a 'fragile mental and physical state' and will be 'feeling miserable' amid the photo row.

Royal commentator Jennie Bond suggested Kate 'must feel under intense pressure now whenever she's going to be seen in public' after her major surgery in January. 

Also rallying round Kate today was royal expert Angela Levin who praised her for being 'honourable'. And Whoopi Goldberg urged the public to show restraint, saying: 'She may be the future Queen (but) she's still an amateur photographer.'

And Ms Bond cautioned against 'bullying her into putting out all the images', adding that the 42-year-old mother-of-three would be feeling 'absolutely miserable'.

She said that Kate's Mother's Day was 'obviously ruined by this row' and she 'didn't look that happy' when photographed yesterday in a car with William.

Ms Bond told GB News: 'We are in danger of bullying a lady who is trying to recover from a very serious operation. I think of how she must be feeling this morning. Absolutely miserable, I think.

'Her Mother's Day was obviously ruined by this row. She was photographed yesterday in the car with William. From what we can see, she didn't look that happy, she must feel under intense pressure now whenever she's going to be seen in public.

'The pressure has doubled and redoubled. I think she's in a fragile mental and physical state. And we should lay off her.'

A smiling Prince William walks into the Commonwealth Service in London yesterday afternoon

Sources close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today claimed the couple would be 'annihilated' for committing her Photoshop mishap

And fellow royal expert Angela Levin tweeted: 'People should be proud that Princess Catherine hasn't blamed any member of staff and realise how honourable she is.

'Harry and Meghan's supporters can stop saying they wouldn't have had a Photoshop fail and should take over. Jumping in when someone is unwell is dishonourable.'

Sources close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle today claimed the couple would be 'annihilated' for committing her Photoshop mishap.

The source told Page Six: 'If Harry and Meghan had ever encountered the same issue they would have been annihilated. The same rules do not apply to both couples.

'This isn’t a mistake that Meghan would ever make … she has a keen eye and freakish attention to detail.'

Meanwhile former BBC royal correspondent Michael Cole told MailOnline that the exiled British Royals will be enjoying Kate's woes, especially given their own recent popularity problems. 

Amid the furore, the Princess later issued an extraordinary mea culpa on Twitter and Instagram, admitting she 'edited' the image - adding that she does 'occasionally experiment' as an 'amateur photographer' and apologising for 'any confusion' the image caused.

Kate is said to have felt that honesty was 'the best policy' and wanted to 'own up' to the Photoshop blunder.

The Princess felt 'awful' about the picture and had been trying to make it the 'best it could be', insiders told The Times - adding that she was 'thinking of her own children when editing the picture, hoping that they looked good for their own sakes'.

Publicly taking the blame for the furore, the princess wrote yesterday: '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.'

Royal sources said the princess had made 'minor adjustments' to the picture, which she and her husband had hoped would be a lovely 'informal' shot to share on a special day.

'This was an amateur, family photograph. Their Royal Highnesses wanted to offer an informal picture of the family together for Mother's Day,' the source said.

'The Princess made minor adjustments as she shared in her statement on social media, the Wales family spent Mother's Day together and had a wonderful day.'

Despite calls for the original to be published, Kensington Palace said it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children, which in itself sparked further debate.

Picture agencies around the world took  the extraordinary step of killing the photo of Kate

The PA news agency said it had withdrawn the image of Kate from its picture service yesterday

Last night the palace faced growing pressure over the debacle with claims it has been damaging to public trust. 

Palace aides did not spot any signs of Photoshop but it's not believed the edits were made aware to the princess' team before it became public.

However, questions have been raised over whether the picture was too good to be true. One red flag might have been the fact the beaming family portrait was shot in such a short time on Friday.

The busy schedules of the Wales family meant the picture had to be taken while everyone was back at home from various activities. A day later, Kate is said to have sent the photo out to her team.

It's unknown whether any of her team could see that the photo had been edited on Photoshop but alarm bells may have started ringing when courtiers discovered that William had taken the picture.

Without editing, it would have been some feat for William to take such a captivating photo with all the members of the family simultaneously roaring with laughter.

A plan was put in place to release the photo and a message from Kate herself at 9am on Sunday - but what quickly ensued was 24 hours of intense scrutiny as the Palace faced questions from all angles over why the family photo appeared to be digitally manipulated.

The row overshadowed yesterday's Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, which was being led by Queen Camilla for the first time, accompanied by Prince William, in the King's absence as he undergoes cancer treatment. His Majesty recorded a video message for the first time instead. 

Camilla and William attend the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey yesterday

Concerns were raised over a missing part of Princess Charlotte's sleeve and the misaligned edge of her skirt, with other speculation including the positioning of Kate's zip.

The picture was released to reassure the public amid escalating conspiracy theories online over the state of Kate's health in recent weeks, but in an extraordinary turn of events sparked what is being dubbed 'Kategate' and even 'Sleevegate'.

William and Kate have an established track record of issuing their own photographs, often taken by Kate rather than William, to mark special occasions including their children's birthdays.

But the princess's confession raises questions over whether - or to what extent - the images have been altered in the past.

Public relations and crisis consultant Mark Borkowski called the fiasco a 'massive own goal' and said the unedited photograph should be released to regain trust.

He said: 'It's plausible she's at home playing with the computer and using an AI tool, but if they're really going to regain any sort of trust they should release the unedited photo, it can't be that bad if they just made a few tweaks.

'I find they have risen to the challenge, provided the statement as an explanation - the question is with all the conspiracy theories running around, is whether people believe it and I'm not sure that they will.'

Mr Borkowski said the Mother's Day photo had exposed a public relations problem for the monarchy: 'That's the issue, there doesn't seem to be that much joined up strategic thinking at the heart of the royal family at the moment, which leads to these problems where it's a very difficult organisation to manage in terms of PR.'

Kate was last seen at a royal event on Christmas Day 2023 with her family at Sandringham 

He added: 'It's a nightmare, even the softer stories of Edward turning 60 this week haven't really resonated at all because no one's interested in them, they're interested in the stars they're not interested in the supporting cast and that is a problem at the moment.

'They are under pressure, massively under pressure, this is a massive own goal.' 

The controversy was overshadowing the Commonwealth Day service, one of the key royal events of the year.

Heir to the throne William and the Queen gathered with the royal family in Westminster Abbey yesterday in the absence of the King, who is continuing treatment for cancer during what has been a challenging start to 2024 for the Windsors.

Earlier, Kate's uncle Gary Goldsmith defended the Waleses and claimed they would not have been responsible for altering the image, adding 'The smiles on faces said it all for me, I thought it was beautiful.'

Sky News said an examination of the photo's meta data revealed it was saved in Adobe Photoshop twice on an Apple Mac on Friday and Saturday and the picture was taken on a Canon Camera.

Under the licensing agreement issued to photo agencies for use of official royal photos, Royal Households usually stipulate: 'This image must not be digitally enhanced, cropped, manipulated or modified in any manner or form.'

Royal author Omid Scobie, seen as a cheerleader for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, accused the Palace of having a 'long history of lying', and said gaining back public trust was now 'an almost impossible task'.

The princess is known to be a keen photographer and revealed in 2021 that she takes so many family photographs that her children sometimes object.

'Everyone's like, 'Mummy, please stop taking photographs',' she said.

Kate underwent surgery at the London Clinic on January 16, but details of her condition have been kept private, and she is not expected to return to official duties until after Easter.