Kensington Palace took 13 hours to explain Kate Middleton's edited photo. People aren't convinced.

• Kate Middleton apologized after releasing a family photo that photo agencies later recalled.
• She said she "occasionally" experimented with editing after the agencies noted digital alterations.

Kate Middleton has apologized after releasing a photo of her and her three children that major photo agencies later recalled over concerns it had been digitally altered.

In a tweet from Kensington Palace's X account that was posted on Monday, about 13 hours after the photo was recalled, the Princess of Wales said: "Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing."

Kate added: "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."

She signed the statement with the initial C for Catherine.

But Jack Royston, a royal commentator and podcast host, said the explanation wouldn't be enough to halt the concerns of royal watchers.

"Kate's tone in the Twitter post is breezy, which will cut against the suggestion there's a crisis. In reality, though, this was the worst possible time to be caught photoshopping a picture as conspiracy theorists have been suggesting Kensington Palace has been hiding something major," he told Business Insider.

"The only way out now is to either publish the original image or release a video of Kate talking to the camera; otherwise, the palace's reputation as a trustworthy source of information will lie in ruins," he added.

Chris Ship, the royal editor at ITV in the UK, wrote on X: "The way to close everything down would be to release the original photo on which Kate decided to 'experiment with editing.' That's very unlikely, mind you ..."

Republic, a UK anti-monarchy group, wrote on X that Kate's statement was "not an explanation, it's a press office attempt to say as little as possible."

"Assuming 'C' is Kate Middleton admitting to editing the image ... seems like she's just been thrown under the bus by Prince William" and Kensington Palace, Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, an activist and political commentator, wrote on X.

"Honestly, they should sack their PR team," she added.

The photo was shared on Sunday morning, coinciding with Mother's Day in the UK.

It followed Kate's lengthy absence from the public eye after she underwent a "planned abdominal surgery" in January.

She hadn't been photographed or spotted in public for weeks, causing a public frenzy and sparking conspiracy theories, until TMZ published a photo showing a sunglasses-clad Kate in the car with her mother.

The Mother's Day photo was the first official photo of Kate published since her prolonged absence.

But social-media users quickly noted some peculiarities, such as blurring on the cuff of Princess Charlotte's cardigan.

News agencies started to issue kill notifications over the photo, an unprecedented move, with AP reporting: "It appears that the source has manipulated the image."

Reuters, Agence France-Press, and, most recently, the Press Association have also recalled the image over concerns it has been altered.