Kate Middleton's Vogue 2016: Internet sleuths claim Princess of Wales' Mother's Day image was photoshopped from old magazine cover

Kate Middleton's Mother's Day image Photoshop conspiracy deepens as internet sleuths theorize that she used a 2016 Vogue cover shoot to allegedly create the photo posted on March 10. The picture, reportedly taken by Prince William at their residence in Windsor, attracted immense attention as it went viral when netizens noticed major discrepancies in it, believing it to be digitally altered.

This fact was further cemented when several major international photo agencies issued a kill notification on the image and retracted it from their libraries, urging people not to use it over claims of manipulation.

Kate Middleton has been caught up in a swirl of conspiracy theories after her abdominal surgery on January 16 and her subsequent disappearance from the public eye. The Mother's Day photo is the first image officially released by Kensington Palace since her surgery.

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Netizens allege that Kate Middleton used a 2016 Vogue photo for the Mother's Day image

According to Page Six, Kate Middleton's Mother's Day photo became a subject of scrutiny as eagle-eyed internet sleuths claimed the photo was manipulated using her 2016 Vogue photoshoot image.

This theory was postulated on X by Ruby Naldrett, who works in the social media division at the Daily Mirror. Her tweet claiming that the Mother's Day photo used Middleton's 2016 Vogue photoshoot went viral, amassing over 33 million views and 20K reshares at the time of writing this article.

She tweeted a video of the Vogue cover photo superimposed on the Mother's Day image, with the caption:

"My analysis of the kate middleton photo saga is that they took her face from the vogue cover she did years ago and edited it in."

The theory received mixed responses on social media. Some were receptive to the idea and pointed out further evidence that seemingly proved this, while others were skeptical, claiming that the image looked the same as it was of the same woman.

An expert who weighed in on the issue claimed that the theory was not 100% accurate. Speaking to Yahoo Lifestyle, TJ Thomson, a visual media and communication expert at RMIT University, claimed that the overlaid images were only an 80–90% match, saying:

"I overlaid the Vogue cover on top of the Instagram image and think there are some similarities, but it's not, in my estimation, an exact match. Perhaps something like an 80-90 per cent overlap?"

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Kate Middleton issued an apology for editing fail

On Monday, March 11, Kate Middleton issued an apology via X, taking the blame for the editing fail on the Mother's Day photo. She claimed to occasionally "experiment with editing" as an amateur photographer, saying:

“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.”

This came after four major photo agencies, including AP, Reuters, AFP, and Getty, issued a kill notification on the photo. According to NBC News, AP retracted the image after claiming the source had manipulated it in a way that did not meet their standards.

Kate Middleton's last public appearance was at the Christmas service at Sandringham. Since she disappeared from the public eye, social media has been rife with conspiracy theories about the missing Princess, with the hashtag #WhereIsKate trending occasionally on X.