AFP says Kensington Palace is no longer trusted source after Princess Kate photo editing

Princess Kate's photo editing scandal has caused photo service AFP to reconsider Kensington Palace as a "trusted source."

The Associated Press, AFP and Reuters issued kill notifications shortly after the family photo showing Kate seated on a chair and surrounded by her children − Prince George, 10; Princess Charlotte, 8; and Prince Louis, 5 − was published due to "manipulation."

Phil Chetwynd, the global news director of AFP, told BBC Radio 4's "The Media Show" on Wednesday that their agency decided to kill the photo due to glaring editing issues and Kensington Palace ignoring their request for the original image. "We didn't get a reply, which is why we killed the photo," he said.

When asked if they still considered the palace a "trusted source," Chetwynd said, "No, absolutely not. Like with anything, when you’re let down by a source the bar is raised."

The global news director admitted that the agency shouldn't have approved the image in the first place. "It's actually not even very well photoshopped. There are clearly a lot of issues with the photo," Chetwynd said. "It shouldn't have been validated. I think as soon as it was, all of the photo editors at all of the major agencies immediately saw there was a problem and got together and spoke about it and said 'what do we do?'"

"We sent out notes to all our teams at the moment to be absolutely super more vigilant about the content coming across our desk — even from what we would call trusted sources," he added.

Chetwynd noted that killing a photo "on the basis of manipulation" is a rare occurrence that happens "once a year maybe, I hope less."

In a Monday morning post from the Prince and Princess of Wales account on X, Kate apologized and said the confusion over the photo was due to her editing.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," the post read. "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. C."

Where is Princess Kate?

The princess, 42, underwent a planned abdominal surgery Jan. 16 and has remained out of the public eye since. The reason for the surgery has not been revealed, though Kensington Palace, Prince William and Kate’s office said it was not cancer-related.

In February, a spokesperson said the princess is "doing well," as rumors and speculation online rose around her disappearance from the public since the holiday season. She was last seen at a Christmas Day service at Sandringham's St Mary Magdalene Church with her husband, Prince William, their three children and other members of the royal family.

"We were very clear from the outset that the Princess of Wales was out until after Easter and Kensington Palace would only be providing updates when something was significant," the statement continued.

That same month, King Charles III was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer, and will suspend his public engagements. Royal officials said his diagnosis was not related to his recent treatment for a benign prostate condition.

Contributing: Emily DeLetter