Princess Kate's photo of the late Queen Elizabeth flagged as 'digitally' altered

LONDON (TND) — Princess Kate Middleton is again under scrutiny for allegedly altering another family photo released by the palace in April 2023.

The image being questioned is of the late Queen Elizabeth with hergrandchildren and great-grandchildren and was released by Buckingham Palace on what would have been the queen's 97th birthday.

On Monday, Getty announced the image, even though it has been public for nearly a year, was manipulated.

"Getty Images has reviewed the image in question and placed an editor’s note on it, stating that the image has been digitally enhanced at source," a spokesperson told The Telegraph.

A post on Instagram states the photo was taken by The Princess during the summer of 2022 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

In the photo, Queen Elizabeth is seated in the middle of a green sofa with William and Kate's kids -- Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8 and Prince Louis, 5 -- and their royal cousins.

Inconsistencies pointed out by The Telegraph include a vertical line where the tartan of the late Queen's skirt does not match and a digital repetition of Mia Tindall's hair.

The errors in the photo were pointed out days after Princess Kate apologized for manipulating a photo of her and her children that she released to celebrate Mother's Day in Britain.

Kate later shared an apology through Kensington Palace for the controversy surrounding the photo.

"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 wrote on X.

The edited photo with her children also caused speculation over Kate's health since her abdominal surgery in January.

On Sunday, British tabloids reported that Kate was spotted in public for the first time since she seemingly disappeared from the public eye.

Middleton was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 29 after two weeks for her undisclosed condition. Palace officials have said she wished her personal medical information to remain private.