Kate Middleton's Uncle Initially Didn't Think She Edited Mother's Day Pic

Princess Kate Middleton’s photo editing scandal continues to rock the world — and her own family.

“When it came out, I said there’s not a chance in hell that Catherine would have Photoshopped that herself,” Kate’s uncle Gary Goldsmith told GB News on Thursday, March 14. “And then she says she did, so my inside track went sideways there.”

Goldsmith continued, “What the obvious thing that I can see in the picture is that they are a beautiful family. And the smiles should have been the center stage, not ‘sleevegate.’”

Kate, 42, has been privately recuperating after a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. She broke her silence on her recovery on March 10 while celebrating the U.K.’s Mother’s Day, in which she also shared a new photo posing with her three kids: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.

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The portrait, snapped by Prince William earlier in 2024, immediately sparked concerns about Kate’s health as royal watchers speculated that the image had been doctored based on the kids’ hands, Charlotte’s sleeves and Kate’s overall positioning. Multiple news outlets subsequently issued a “kill notice,” claiming that the photo had been manipulated by the source.

Kate later confirmed that she had been playing around with photo editing software.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” the Princess of Wales wrote in a statement earlier this week. “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.”

Neither Kate nor Kensington Palace have further addressed the photo scandal, instead focusing on her continued recovery.

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“She has the best support on the planet,” Goldsmith said on Thursday. “I think she’s got the best support infrastructure on the planet. She has got the best people looking after her.”

A source revealed in the latest issue of Us Weekly that Kate’s condition remains in a “shroud of secrecy” and that many family members and senior staffers are still left in the dark.

“Whatever the reason for the operation was, it’s of a personal nature, and Kate wants to keep the details as private as possible,” the insider added. “Perhaps when she’s feeling up to it, she may reveal more, but she’s not making any promises.”

Amidst her recovery, Kate has not made an official appearance since December 2023 and is not expected to return to her duties until after Easter next month. She has only been spotted twice in early March, riding in a car with mom Carole Middleton and later with William, 41, ahead of Commonwealth Day services.