Kate, the Princess of Wales.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
London: A video of a beaming Kate Middleton shows her out and about shopping at a farm shop with her husband Prince William near the family home in Windsor, her first public appearance since the so-called “photogate” fiasco of an “edited” royal photograph after her abdominal surgery triggered rumours over her health.
The video, which shows the 42-year-old Princess of Wales carrying her own shopping bag as the royal couple walk together, was released late on Monday by The Sun newspaper which said the footage is from Saturday.
The newspaper said it has chosen to both report her appearance in its Sunday's edition and show the footage on Monday in a bid to bring an end to what palace sources have called the "madness of social media.”
The couple's Kensington Palace office hopes this informal film will help dismiss the wild conspiracy theories and speculation doing the rounds over Princess Kate’s health.
The scrutiny around the future queen of Britain has been on overdrive after she was admitted to the London Clinic for a planned surgery on January 16, with social media speculation swirling around her recuperation.
Kensington Palace had said after the surgery that the Princess of Wales was “making good progress” and that it would not be offering any regular commentary on a private medical matter. Kate is not expected to return to official royal duties until next month, after the Easter school holidays.
She was last officially pictured on Christmas Day last year as she attended the Royal Family's annual church service in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Meanwhile, after Kate was forced to apologise for the “confusion” she caused with her amateur edit of a picture of her with her three kids – Princes George, 10, and Louis, 5, and Princess Charlotte, 8 – the Getty Images picture agency revealed that another picture taken by the Princess of Wales had been “digitally enhanced at source”.
The second photograph in question is of the late Queen Elizabeth II posing with her great-grandchildren. Buckingham Palace had released the picture on April 21 last year, the Queen’s 97th birthday, saying it was taken by the Princess of Wales at Balmoral Castle in the summer of 2022.
“Getty Images can confirm that in accordance with its editorial policy, it has placed an editor's note on a handout image stating the image has been digitally enhanced at source,” Getty Images said in a statement on Tuesday.
This follows all major international picture agencies issuing a rare “kill notice” on the Mother’s Day image of Kate and her kids from March 10 amid concerns “the source had manipulated the image” after people cited several peculiarities, including issues with Charlotte's sleeve, the uneven pattern on Louis' jumper and the window frame behind George.
Speculation about her health and whereabouts comes as King Charles III is also off duty while he undergoes treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer. While there has been some talk of the so-called “photogate” scandal damaging public trust in Britain’s monarchy, a new ‘Sky News’ poll by YouGov on Tuesday claims that a majority 68 per cent say their opinion has not changed in recent months.
Around one in 10 people say they trust the Princess of Wales less, but the same number also say they trust her more. Trust in the 75-year-old King is better, as 5 per cent of people say they trust him less, whereas 11 per cent say they trust him more.