KATE: I'M TO BLAME

Agencies issue 'kill notices' on edited shot

- RUSSELL MYERS

AT 10.28 am, just hours after several major news agencies had issued a "kill notice" on her Mother's Day photo, Kate held her hands up and admitted editing the image.

But, she explained, she had only done what "many amateur photographers" do routinely.

In a statement, Kate said: "I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused."

Kate, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, had woken up to an outcry that she had "manipulated" her family photo, with the world's biggest photo agencies deleting it from their libraries.

A friend said Kate "would likely be upset by the furore caused by what was supposed to be an innocent family photograph".

The photo of Kate with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, five, was taken by Prince William and released by Kensington Palace on Sunday.

It was the first photo to be issued since Kate was in hospital for two weeks after abdominal surgery on January 16.

But it was withdrawn hours later by Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Getty Images and PA, over suspicions it had been manipulated.