Featured Image Credit: Stephen Pond/Getty Images/Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Topics: Kate Middleton, Prince William, Royal Family, News, UK News
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Kate Middleton, Prince William, Royal Family, News, UK News
The last fortnight has seen the internet bursting at the seams with conspiracies surrounding the wellbeing and whereabouts of the Princess of Wales.
And today, the photographer behind her most recent photo - which sees her sitting with husband Prince William in the back of a Range Rover, facing away from the camera - has spoken out about the conspiracy theories surrounding the snap.
Kate Middleton has not made any public appearances since undergoing abdominal surgery back in January.
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Being that her recovery from the procedure has seemingly taken an usually long time, however, followers of the royal story have been left concerned about something ominous going on behind the scenes.
All of the mother-of-three's upcoming state appointments have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, with William conducting royal visits on his own.
And over the two weeks in particular, as well as conspiracy theories escalating, representatives from Kensington Palace also appear to have given legs to the rumours of her whereabouts, following some photo editing mishaps.
Over the weekend, palace officials released an photograph of Kate alongside her three children - Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight, and Prince Louis, five - to commemorate Mother's Day.
Within hours of the snap being released to the public, however, eagle-eyed viewers began accusing the Princess of Wales of editing the image, and later, a number of global press agencies, including AP, AFP and Reuters, declared it had been 'manipulated'.
Kate, 42, was therefore forced to respond to the allegations in a statement, in which she apologised for the 'confusion' the image had caused.
In a message signed from 'C', she wrote: "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."
Since then, only one more photo - of the Princess, sitting beside the future king - was snapped by a press photographer.
The picture sees the duo - who have been married since 2011 - sitting in the back of a Range Rover as they leave Windsor Palace, with the Princess looking away from the paparazzi.
It wasn't long until further speculation regarding the legitimacy of the new photograph began pouring in, however.
Some viewers alleged that the bricks of the palace had been altered, while others questioned whether it was even Kate in the photos, being that her face is turned away.
Despite the new speculation, however, Goff Photos - the agency that captured the picture of the couple - has shut down rumours that the latest snap has been edited.
Speaking to E! News, the agency admitted that the snap has 'been cropped and lightened', but 'nothing has been doctored'.