Kate, the Princess of Wales, did something in the midst of a public controversy that only a smattering of other members of the royal family have ever done: she issued a public apology.

According to ABC News royal contributor Victoria Murphy, Kate's apology on Monday for "any confusion" she caused by altering a family photo is not only unprecedented in and of itself, but also unprecedented in the history of the British royal family.

From the Royal Family

The princess's royal X account, formerly known as Twitter, posted the statement, "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.

She added, "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."

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

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024

The Photograph

The photograph, which featured a beaming Kate surrounded by her three children—Princess Charlotte, Princes George and Louis—was the initial official image of the princess to be released since her two-week hospitalization following abdominal surgery in January.

A few hours after the family uploaded the family photo to X, attributing it to William, a number of international news organizations retracted the image on the grounds that it had been "manipulated."

"It's rare to get a public apology from a member of the royal family, and certainly one that is delivered personally rather than via a spokesperson," Murphy said. "The fact that an apology was issued here by Kate shows that the Palace have taken the outcry seriously and feel its important they hold their hands up and say, 'Yes we did edit it, and we apologize for that confusion."

The Retraction

The Associated Press, one of the agencies to retract the phot, told ABC News in a statement Sunday it made the move "because at closer inspection, it appears that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP's photo standards. The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand."

According to Murphy, however, the apology is meant to be a personal one. Kate, whose full name is Catherine, signed the message as "C," indicating she wrote it herself, according to the royal contributor.

"The fact that this was signed C for Catherine reflects the fact this was a personal message directly from the princess and not just one on her behalf from Kensington Palace," she said.

"Most of the time the palace's social media accounts do not contain personal messages from the royals themselves, so when one comes along, it is significant."

The Source

Murphy postulated that William and Kate's "small and close-knit team" at Kensington Palace probably discussed and approved of Kate's apology before she issued it.

"Kensington Palace was not commenting last night or early this morning after the photo agencies recalled the image, so it is clear that they wanted to spent time deciding on what the best response was," Murphy said.

"Often, statements are issued to the media via email or even nowadays on WhatsApp, but with this there was obviously a decision taken to issue the apology on the same social media platforms that the original photograph was issued."