Kate Middleton in another photo mystery - with even Whoopi Goldberg weighing in - as royal sleuths claim they've spotted something strange about car snap with Prince William

The royals have come under scrutiny after the Princess of Wales said she had edited the infamous Mother's Day family picture taken by Prince William and shared on their social media.

However Kate, 42, has been caught up in another photo mystery as royal sleuths spotted an anomaly in the snap of her leaving Windsor Castle in a car with Prince William on Monday as he headed to Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service.

Speculation arose online after social media users spotted a difference in how the brick wall behind the vehicle looked through the window versus above the car, with some saying the grouting, colour and size of the bricks appear different.    

One royal sleuth said: 'I found the photographer Jim Bennett's website. He took 3 pictures of Will and 'Kate'. Look at the bricks on the 3rd picture. Not only the bricks look different (above vs through the car windows), the depth looks off too.'

However, the mystery has been solved by other royal fans who have shared photos of the street to prove that an optical illusion is to blame.  

Princess of Wales, 42, appeared to be caught up in another photo mystery as royal sleuths spotted an anomaly in the snap of her leaving Windsor Castle in a car with Prince William on Monday

Beofre the explanation emerged, fanse were convinced something was amiss, with one writing: 'Wow even this photo is fake… plus the bricks. They're different bricks. What on earth is going on.'

Meanwhile another said: 'The deception continues. If Kate can dress up and come out, why has there not been a video of her like King Charles instead of a manipulated photo? Prince William is hiding under his wife's skirt to deflect from his fraudulently manipulated picture. #PhotoGate.'

A fourth said: 'That car image shows how gullible you people are because that photo is fake as well. They are driving too close to the brick wall. The wall where the bricks don't even match. Kate is somehow engrossed by these bricks that her head is facing a brick wall. Another fake!!!' 

Even Whoopi Goldberg weighed in on the photo mystery on US talk show The View after the topic of Kate became very heated during Wednesday's episode of the ABC show.

Panelist Sunny Hostin claimed the snap of the future Queen, and her husband Prince William sitting in a car had also been Photoshopped, while Joy Behar brutally declared: 'I don't trust the royal family!'

However their wild claims about the royals were not tolerated by Whoopi, 68, who appeared to grow increasingly irritated with her co-hosts' speculation, blasting them for asking her 'stupid questions' as they argued over the editing of a Mother's Day photograph of Kate and her three children, which was recalled by picture agencies over 'manipulation' fears. 

The discussion began when Whoopi announced: 'The conspiracy theories over Princess Kate and the royal family photo keep getting piled higher and higher, what the hell is going on here?' as Sunny claimed that Sara, 46, was 'responsible' for her going 'down a rabbit hole'.

Speculation arose online after social media users spotted a difference in how the brick wall behind the vehicle looked through the window versus above the car. However royal fan Meredith Constant, from Denver, Colorado, took to her TikTok @meredithconstant to share a clip explaining the pap shot to put any speculation to bed

Even Whoopi Goldberg weighed in on the photo mystery on US talk show The View after the topic of Kate became very heated during Wednesday's episode

Sunny Hostin jumped out of her seat to point out to the panel why she thinks a new photo of Kate sitting in the back of a car with Prince William has been Photoshopped

Confirming that she's now got her husband Emmanuel involved, Sunny continued: 'Sara keeps on sending text messages to me about pictures and where it's doctored, and yesterday they released another picture of Kate in a car and you can't see Kate, and now I have Manny looking at the picture and Manny said that the brick doesn't match through the glass.'

The mother-of-two then jumped out of her seat to walk over to the screen to point out the details of the royal photo as Whoopi rubbished her theory and said: 'All this does is show that you don't know what goes on in buildings!'

'No, no, that's a Photoshop!' Sunny fired back as Whoopi asked her: 'Can you bank that?' to which the lawyer replied: 'I bank on my husband's surgeon eyes!' as Alyssa claimed the palace could 'resolve this in two minutes by putting her direct to camera'.

Whoopi couldn't hide her annoyance as she tried to take the show to a commercial break, but as the music started to play, the squabble continued and the theme tune quickly paused.

'I'm worried about her, I don't know what's wrong,' Sara, 46, said as Joy added: 'I don't trust the royal family to be truthful,' as Sara continued: 'I'm worried about Kate. People think it's because we're hating on them, but I'm actually worried about Kate.'

Speculation arose online after social media users spotted a difference in how the brick wall behind the vehicle looked through the window versus above the car, with some saying the grouting, colour and size of the bricks appear different

The photo agency that captured the car pictures, Goff Photos, denied editing the images. Speaking to E! News they said: 'The photos have been cropped and lightened but nothing has been doctored.'

Jim Bennett, the photographer who snapped the photos, told PEOPLE: 'We don't change our photos in Photoshop other than adjusting the light levels if necessary. Car shots are unpredictable at the best of times and with some reflection on the glass it can be difficult.' 

However some internet sleuths managed to come up with a reasonable explanation for the difference in the bricks.

One royal fan Lauren Kiehna, who is writer and editor of The Court Jeweller, took to X, formerly know as Twitter, to explain the brick difference in the wall. 

One royal fan Lauren Kiehna, who is writer and editor of The Court Jeweller, took to X, formerly know as Twitter , to explain the brick difference in the wall

Posting a Google image of the exact location the photograph was she snapped she said: 'The photograph taken on Monday showing William and Kate in a car was snapped in front of 39 High Street in Datchet. 

'Those who are worried about the brick patterns on the wall/building in the background might want to consult Google Maps.'

Meanwhile royal fan Meredith Constant, from Denver, Colorado, took to her TikTok @meredithconstant to share a clip explaining the pap shot even further to put any speculation to bed. 

She said: 'One of the things that people have noticed in this photo is the brick up there is not the same as the brick down here, the grout is different, the brick size is different.

'After the last few days I do not blame people for focusing on this and asking if it is a fake shot.'

Showing a snap of the street where the pap shot was taken she added: 'I think because the picture was cropped in so tight, we couldn't see that it was a brick wall and further back was a brick building, an optical illusion of sorts.

Kensington Palace yesterday released the first picture of the Princess of Wales since surgery

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

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

The Princess of Wales has admitted that she edited the Mother's Day portrait and apologised 'for any confusion' that it caused

'The difference in colour of bricks is different because you are shooting through a car window in this situation. This really could of been resolved by releasing the full pic before it was cropped.' 

Kate has been out of the public eye since Christmas as she recovers from an abdominal surgery and spent two weeks in a private London hospital in January.

A Mother's Day photo shared over the weekend marked the first official portrait of the royal since her procedure but it came under scrutiny after the Princess of Wales said she had edited the family portrait of herself sitting with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. 

Kensington Palace came under increasing pressure to release the original Mother's Day photograph after Kate apologised.

Experts told MailOnline it was changed using Photoshop and related AI tools.

The world's major photo agencies later 'killed' the picture after noticing signs of digital editing, including a missing part of Princess Charlotte's sleeve and the misaligned edge of her wrist and skirt, and the positioning of Kate's zip. 

The princess gave an apology on social media. She 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'. She signed it 'C' - for Catherine.

PR experts have described the Mother's Day photo fiasco as a 'massive own goal' and urged royal officials to release the unedited picture in a bid to regain the public's trust.

Kensington Palace had initially faced calls to reveal the truth behind the photo after the world's top picture agencies - including the Press Association - 'killed' the image over claims it had been digitally manipulated.

 While the princess publicly took the blame for altering the photo, Kensington Palace said it would not be reissuing the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.

PR expert Mark Borkowski 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 they will.'