Kate Middleton and Prince William fans notice powerful detail in Christmas card after its release

Eagle-eyed viewers of Prince William and Kate Middleton's newly-released 2024 Christmas card have been left with one resounding question.

Picking up on an emotive aspect of the festive release, many took to social media to share their thoughts on the matter.

For those who haven't seen it yet, the Wales' shared their Christmas card in the form of a GIF this year - marking a major break in royal protocol - with the loop being uploaded to Kensington Palace's official X account.

The GIF shows snow falling in the foreground of a computer generated Christmas card, which itself contains an image of William and Kate with children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Interestingly, however, it is the photo chosen for the holiday season that has caused quite a stir, with a handful of viewers claiming they've seen it somewhere before.

It is understood that the image of the family was taken the same day that a video was recorded back in September, where mum-of-three Kate revealed she'd concluded her recent round of chemotherapy.

The 42-year-old Princess first shared the news of her health scare in March of this year after remaining out of the public eye for several weeks - though, she has not yet revealed what type of cancer she was diagnosed with.

Back in September, however, in an emotional video shared alongside her husband and kids, she revealed she was 'cancer-free', telling viewers: "The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant, and we’ve had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown."

As we say, some keen-eyed Christmas card recipients have clocked that Kate appears to be wearing the same outfit in the picture as she did in the end-of-summer video, implying it's an 'old' image.

"This is not new but I guess that's okay as long as she's healthy," one wrote on X following the release.

Another observed: "The Prince and Princess of Wales have used a still from their September film shot by Will Warr for their Christmas card. The footage was shot in Norfolk in August and released to mark the announcement that Kate had finished her chemotherapy treatment."

"They are bringing it out now to try to cover up his absence at the Buckingham Palace lunch...," a third added, discussing further news released earlier today that William and Kate won't be joining King Charles and Queen Camilla for their annual festive lunch.

The note attached to William and Kate's card reads: "Wishing you a very Happy Christmas and New Year."

The release comes just days after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released their own Christmas e-card, which itself caused mass controversy online.

Some viewers accused Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of having used AI to generate their Christmas collage - which was released to all Archewell Foundation subscribers - while others insinuated they'd used body doubles of their children for one particular picture.

Another royal expert also accused the couple of having broken royal protocol by choosing not to release a single image.

Naturally, therefore, we can't wait to hear what royal commentators make of William and Kate's GIF...