The photo, touted as the first since Kate’s surgery, showed her sitting on a chair surrounded by her children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

However, multiple organistions including Reuters and Agence France-Presse said that the image was being withdrawn after it was found to be ‘manipulated’.

Reuters added that the image was removed after a ‘post-publication review’.

The notice from Associated Press said that the ‘source had manipulated the image’.

However, the photo which was issued by Kensington Palace continues to remain posted at the Prince William and Kate’s official Instagram page.

So what exactly is wrong with the image?

AP, which is the only one out of the three outlets above to put a detailed story on the whole issue, explained what is wrong with the image.

“For instance, the photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand,” AP said.

A close up of the young princess’ left hand shows clear tampering around the sleeve of the cardigan she is wearing. The pattern of her skirt abruptly appears where the sleeve should be.

News agencies have strict guidelines on accepting photographs and they do not even allow photographers to remove red-eye from their photos.

For now, the image supposed to be an explanation of Kate’s absence might have made matters worse.