Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Rep Clarifies Couple’s Alleged Reaction to Kate Middleton’s Photoshop Scandal

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton

A spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sought to clarify the couple’s reaction to #KateGate after initial comments from unnamed sources appeared to mock the Princess of Wales amid the photo scandal that erupted as the U.K. celebrated Mother’s Day.

The photo of Kate Middleton and her three children with Prince William raised eyebrows because it appeared to have been digitally altered. The concerns prompted several news organizations to pull the photo.

“This isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make,” unnamed sources told Page Six. The sources, who were identified as being close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, told the gossip column that if Harry and Meghan were to share a photo that appeared to be edited, “they would have been annihilated.”

Related: Video of Kate Middleton Discussing the Power of Proper Photography Resurfaces Amid Editing Scandal

Harry and Meghan are now pushing back against those comments through a spokesperson for their Archewell Foundation.

“With respect to Page Six, that did not come from us,” the spokesperson told Newsweek.

The photo controversy began in the hours after Kensington Palace posted the image of Kate with her three children in recognition of Mother’s Day, which the U.K. celebrated on March 10. In a caption accompanying the photo, Kate thanked her supporters for their “kind wishes” over the last couple of months as she recovered from abdominal surgery in January. Kate has largely been out of the public eye since her surgery and isn’t expected to return to public royal duties until after Easter.

Related: Prince William Steps Out Amid Kate Middleton’s Photoshop Controversy

The photo itself quickly sparked conspiracy theories about Kate’s whereabouts as social media users noticed several details suggesting the photo was digitally altered. Many fans of the royal family are raising concerns about the princess and want to see a recent photo of her that has not been edited. English broadcaster Piers Morgan has also called upon Kensington Palace to “release the unedited photo of Kate & the kids” as soon as possible.

“If it’s just a small bit of harmless retouching gone wrong, nobody will care,” Morgan wrote on X. “If they don’t release the original pic, the conspiracy theories they were trying to kill, will get way worse.”

A March 11 statement attributed to Kate noted that she does “occasionally experiment with editing” and apologized “for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.” Despite the apology, questions about the photo and Kate herself continue swirling days later.

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