Four international photo agencies have withdrawn a picture of the Princess of Wales and her children due to concerns of potential “manipulation.”

The image, captured by Prince William for Mother’s Day, marked the first release of Catherine’s photo by Kensington Palace since her surgery in January.

Getty Images, AFP, Reuters, and Associated Press have retracted the photo, citing an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.”

Kensington Palace has chosen not to provide a comment.

The photo displays the princess seated, encircled by Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Prince George, the latter wrapping his arms around her.

The recently shared photograph marked the first official image of the Princess of Wales following her abdominal surgery two months ago. During this period, she has maintained a low profile and refrained from public appearances.

The picture was published on the social media accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales, accompanied by a message from Catherine expressing gratitude: “Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day.”

The royal couple has established a customary practice of releasing personal photos to commemorate special family occasions. Typically captured by Catherine herself, these images are disseminated to the media with specific guidelines on their usage.

However, before Prince William’s family photo was shared on social media, it likely underwent scrutiny by the social media team at Kensington Palace, responsible for managing the online accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales.

It is plausible that certain edits were made to the original photo, leading to the observed discrepancies in its presentation. The suggestion is not that the entire image is fraudulent or that the Princess of Wales is in worse health than depicted. Such a scenario appears improbable and would entail a significant risk for the Kensington Palace team.

In an effort to swiftly share the new photo, the BBC utilized the image posted by Kensington Palace on their social media platforms.

However, late on Sunday, the Associated Press, among various international agencies disseminating the photo, issued a “kill notification,” an industry term signifying a retraction.

The statement from Associated Press read: “Upon closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image. No replacement photo will be sent.”

Following suit, Reuters acknowledged withdrawing the image “following a post-publication review.” Subsequently, a third agency, AFP, also issued a “mandatory kill notice.”

Getty Images joined as the fourth organization to retract the photograph.