Prince William attends royal engagement amid Kate Middleton photo controversy
Prince William made a public appearance Monday amid controversy surrounding his family, particularly his wife Kate, the Princess of Wales, who has been out of the spotlight since her last official public appearance on Christmas Day.
William, 41, joined Queen Camilla and other members of the royal family at Westminster Abbey for a service marking Commonwealth Day.
The annual service is one that Kate, as well as William's father King Charles III, have traditionally attended.
Charles was absent from Monday's service as he continues to refrain from public duties after being diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
Kate missed the Commonwealth Day service this year as she continues to recover from what Kensington Palace described as a "planned abdominal surgery" back in January.
Kate's recovery became mired in controversy in recent weeks amid online speculation about her health: The Princess of Wales has only been publicly spotted once since her surgery, and William recently missed a royal engagement due to what the palace said was a "personal matter."
On Sunday, the controversy grew further after William and Kate shared a photo on their official X account featuring Kate and their three children, Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, to mark Mother's Day in the United Kingdom.
Credit for the photo was issued to William.
The photo, showing a smiling Kate surrounded by her kids, was later retracted by several global news agencies over concerns it was "manipulated."
One of the agencies, The Associated Press, told ABC News in a statement it retracted the photo "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."
On Monday, Kate issued a rare public apology, admitting to editing the photo and writing that she was sorry for any "confusion" the photo caused.
"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," Kate said in a statement shared on X. "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."
Kate, whose formal name is Catherine, signed the message as "C," indicating she wrote it herself.
William has not commented publicly on the photo.
Kensington Palace said Monday it would not be reissuing the original unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
