Royal photo with Prince Louis 'missing a finger' resurfaces as Kate Middleton apologises for Mother's Day photoshopped image

A royal photo with Prince Louis 'missing a finger' has resurfaced after Kate Middleton apologises for her Mother's Day photoshopped image.

Now, Kate, 42, has been at the centre of speculation after she appeared to withdraw from the public eye, following a planned abdominal surgery at a private hospital in London in January.

Just last week (4 March), she was spotted by paparazzi while out in the car with her mum – the first time she was seen publicly since Christmas Day.

Since then, Kensington Palace later released an official photo over the weekend to mark Mother’s Day, along with a message from the Princess of Wales.

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months," she wrote.

"Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day. C."

The accompanying photograph showed Kate posing with her three children - Prince George, 10, Charlotte, eight and Louis, five – with the post adding she was 'unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter'.

However, by Sunday evening, the image had been pulled by a number of global press agencies, including AP, AFP and Reuters, amid claims that the photo had been ‘manipulated’.

Many people noticed a few strange details in the image, including an area near Charlotte's sleeve that seems to have been edited, bizarrely patchy window panes (and a lack of reflection in the window itself), Kate wearing no wedding ring and her zip stopping part way down her jacket.

Kate has now responded in a statement, apologising 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."

And following today's statement, a snap with Prince Louis 'missing a finger' is making its rounds on social media once again.

One X (formerly Twitter) user penned: "Let's just pause and take a moment to think however bad your Monday is, it's not the Royal Family putting out random photoshopped pictures."

They then added a side-by-side comparison of the two edited images showing their 'numerous errors', adding: "This is a totally surreal situation!"

In the photo, which was shared in December 2023, the couple can be seen wearing white shirts and smiling into the camera while the future King rests a hand on the shoulder of Prince Louis.

Kate has her arm around the waist of Prince George, and Princess Charlotte is sat front and centre on a chair.

The black and white snap, which was taken by Yorkshire photographer Josh Shinner, was shared on Twitter with the caption: "Our family Christmas card for 2023."

Some, however, were left utterly confused after looking at Louis’ hand and claiming it looked like the youngster was missing a finger.

Commenting on X, one person said: "Is Prince Louis missing a finger? What in the AI is going on."

A second said: "I’m not a fan of this photo, look at Louis and his left hand, what is going on with that, it looks Photoshopped."

While someone else wrote: "Louis is missing a finger, this has got to be the worst photoshopped pic ever."