William and Kate 'astonished' at Mother's Day photo controversy

The Prince and Princess of Wales and their Kensington Palace staff were "astonished" at the reaction to the couple's Mother's Day photo, according to book author Robert Hardman.

Hardman revisits the controversy in his new book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story.

In an excerpt published on Mail on Sunday, the author writes that Prince William and Kate Middleton felt the reaction to her photoshopping of the image was "extremely disproportionate."

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The photo was posted on March 10 for Mother's Day in the UK.

It showed the Princess of Wales seated and surrounded by her three children Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.

Royal fans were eager to see the image after a period of absence by the Princess of Wales following "planned abdominal surgery" in January.

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The photo was scoured by members of the public who were quick to noticed details had been altered.

Kate later issued an apology for the edits which included an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte's left hand.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," the Princess of Wales said in a statement.

"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."

The four main international photographic agencies – Getty, AP, AFP, Reuters – issued a "kill notice" on the photo on the grounds it had been "manipulated" however the image is still available on the Prince and Princess of Wales' social media channels, albeit with a warning.

AP wrote an alert stating that after "closer inspection it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent."

Hardman wrote in his book that AP's statement "seemed an oddly exaggerated, almost performative, response."

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"The industry's concerns about the threat of artificial intelligence (AI) to the integrity of mainstream photography were well known," Hardman said in the book which will be released on November 7.

Hardman writes that members of William and Kate's staff told him: "There were several factors. Anything written or said about the Princess of Wales at that point was at fever pitch and front page news."

"It also spoke to the nervousness of the photography industry around AI and their future. Even so, the reaction seemed extremely disproportionate," he continued.

Hardman was reportedly told the Princess of Wales' intention by releasing the photo was to "bring some joy to the nation."

Although William and Kate didn't dwell on the controversy as they were dealing with her cancer diagnosis and treatment, which hadn't yet been made public.

Less than two weeks after the photo controversy the Princess of Wales released an unedited video in which she shared her cancer diagnosis.

King Charles III had also shared his cancer diagnosis earlier in the year. Neither has disclosed the type of cancer they have been suffering from.

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