Princess Catherine's Mother's Day image adds to conspiracy theories

Conspiracy theories about Catherine 'Kate' Middleton's health and marriage are heating up after the royal released a new picture of herself on social media.

The Princess of Wales shared the image to celebrate Mother's Day, which took place on Sunday in the UK. 

"Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day," the 42-year-old. 

The picture shows Princess Catherine sitting on a chair with her three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - beside her. 

The picture was a welcome surprise for Kate's fans, who have rarely seen her since she underwent abdominal surgery in January. 

However, social media users say the picture further proves that all is not well with the princess.

"This photo looks doctored… Catherine’s right hand around Louis is entirely blurry but the left hand around Charlotte, at the same distance to the camera, is not," one Instagram user wrote. 

A second person commented: "Charlotte’s left wrist shows CLEAR photoshop."

A third wrote: "I think you need to remove this and tell the people where kate is."

Some noticed that Kate was not wearing her iconic engagement ring. Her husband, Prince William, gave her Princess Diana's 12-carat sapphire ring when he proposed in 2010. 

The couple's marriage has also been scrutinised since Kate's "mysterious" hospital stay. Kensington Palace did not reveal why she needed abdominal surgery, unlike King Charles, who revealed his cancer diagnosis in February. 

Some people believe Kate also has a serious health condition that the palace is keeping a secret. Others are convinced that she has gone missing. Some social media users have even gone as far as to say that she has left Prince William.

According to the palace, William took Kate's Mother's Day picture at Windsor last week. However, many of their fans are not convinced it is a recent snap.

"Shout-out to whoever is doing PR ... Because nothing says "let's put the conspiracy theories to rest" quite like a very badly photoshopped/ai generated photo," one Instagram user wrote. 

ALSO READ: Prince William and Kate Middleton's Christmas card photoshop fail

Adding fuel to the flames is the fact that several major news agencies have decided to pull the photo, saying they believe it has been manipulated. 

AFP, Reuters,  Associated Press and Getty Images are among the agencies that have recalled the image and removed it from their libraries. 

AP noted that upon “closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image". 

The plot thickens...

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Main image credit: Prince and Princess of Wales