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To mark Father’s Day, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, snapped a picture of her husband Prince William, and their children, Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6.

The official Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts of the Prince and Princess of Wales posted Middleton’s photo on Sunday, June 16, with the caption “We love you, Papa. Happy Father’s Day,” signed by the royal pair’s three children.

In the photograph,William and the children are standing on a beach, facing away from the camera, their arms around one another as they look out onto the water.

The post comes after the family was seen together in public for the first time in months at the King’s Birthday Parade on Saturday, June 15. Following the parade, Kate, William, and the children joined King Charles III and Queen Camilla to observe  the Royal Air Force (RAF) flypast on the Buckingham Palace balcony.

Middleton’s appearance at the parade, also known as Trooping the Colour, marked her return to the spotlighte after taking a break from public-facing duties since December 2023. In a video message released on March 22,  the Princess of Wales revealed she had been diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer following a planned abdominal surgery in January. She explained that she was undergoing a course of "preventative chemotherapy."

Before the announcement, Middleton was the subject of circling rumors and conspiracy theories regarding her whereabouts. Fueling the fire was a picture shared on U.K. Mother’s Day across the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media accounts. The post showed  a photo of Middleton and her children. It was credited to Prince William and dated in 2024. 

“Thank you for your kind wishes and continued support over the last two months. Wishing everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. C,” the caption for the posts read.

Yet, soon after the image was shared, onlookers began to notice irregularities that suggested the picture had been altered.. International news agencies including the Associated Press (AP), Reuters, Agence France Press, and Getty all took the rare decision to remove the photo from circulation, citing their notice of the irregularities as well. The AP even issued a “kill notification” for the photograph.

The following day, Middleton admitted to manipulating the photo of her family. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Ahead of the Trooping the Colour, Middleton released a personal note to the public, where she shared that her treatment is ongoing and she is “not out of the woods yet,” but is hoping to attend more public engagements over the summer.

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