New Delhi:

Where is Kate Middleton? This question has dominated social media for the last two weeks, but no clear answer yet. British media, though, seem to have found the answer as they published new visuals of the Princess of Wales at a farmer’s market.

The photo and video, published by the British tabloid The Sun, shows a smiling Kate walking alongside her husband Prince William at the market in Windsor. “Great to see you Kate,” said The Sun on Monday evening, alongside the images of the princess wearing leggings and a black top.

Great to see (via @TheSun ) Kate laughing and joking with William on their shopping trip. She’s obviously recovering well. This should end a lot of the conspiracy theories… pic.twitter.com/UM57fkbXix

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 18, 2024

“I didn’t feel like they were hiding who they were. But they didn’t quite know how people would react because there has been this build-up about their whereabouts and I got the sense they just wanted to be swift in there,” Nelson Silva, who took the video told the Sun.

“Kate looked happy and relaxed. They look happy just to be able to go to a shop and mingle. Kate looked relieved like it was a success going to a shop. It felt natural,” he said.

Another newspaper, The Daily Mail, lauded an “image that will silence the conspiracy theorists” and said it “will reassure fans she is making a good recovery from her abdominal surgery”.

The new visuals come just a week after furore over the Palace officially releasing edited photos of Kate. They later issued a kill order for the image after several news agencies claimed that the image was morphed.

Kate Middleton, 42, has not been seen in public eye since an abdominal surgery for a non-cancerous but unspecified condition on January 16.

Other than a couple of blurry pictures, she has not been seen since, and in recent weeks social media has been awash with speculation about her health, generating global headlines and rumours.

Instead of calming fears over her health, the edited picture released by Kensington Palace sent the rumour mill into overdrive as the media scrambled to pull the picture.

Kate apologised but faced criticism even from usually supportive media.

The new video from the farmer’s market too has sparked a debate on social media with eagle-eyed viewers flagging several issues with the media. Some said the photo looked too grainy in an era when every phone had a 4k or HD camera.

Other conspiracy theorists also felt that the woman snapped was not Kate Middleton, but instead a body double.

Catherine, Princess of Wales on Monday apologised and admitted to editing an official portrait of her released by the palace after AFP and other agencies withdrew the image.

Kate, 42, has not been seen in public since attending a Christmas Day church service, and underwent abdominal surgery in January, fuelling speculation about her health, particularly online.

Her Kensington Palace office on Sunday sought to dispel rumours by distributing an official photograph said to have been taken by her husband Prince William of her with their three children.

But questions quickly emerged of the Mother’s Day portrait of a smiling Kate, casually dressed and seated in a garden chair, surrounded by Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Discrepancies included several inconsistencies, such as Charlotte’s left hand being misaligned with the sleeve of her cardigan and a missing part of her sleeve.

The eight-year-old princess’s hair ended abruptly on her shoulder while Kate’s zip was lighter than elsewhere.

AFP, Getty, the Associated Press (AP) and Reuters all have policies about distributing manipulated images, and pulled it, despite initially publishing the photograph provided by Kensington Palace.

Britain’s domestic Press Association said on Monday it, too, was withdrawing the image, noting “the absence of clarification” about the image from Kensington Palace.

Within minutes of PA announcing its decision, the palace issued a statement on X (formerly Twitter), signed by “C” for Catherine.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” it stated. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. 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

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 11, 2024

– ‘Damaging’ –

Many commentators suggested the furore had cast fresh doubt on palace reassurances about Kate’s health and recuperation.

William, 41, and other senior royals are expected to attend the annual Commonwealth Day celebrations in central London later on Monday.

Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said the situation was “damaging” for the family. “They knew there would be intense interest in any picture they released of Kate,” he said.

“Their challenge is that people will now question whether they can be trusted and believed when they next issue a health update.”

Graham Smith, who heads the Republic pressure group calling for an elected head of state, added: “It’s quite simple. Don’t use their own photos. It’s PR, not news.”

Intense interest in Kate’s absence comes from the fact that William — King Charles III’s elder son — is heir to the throne, meaning she will one day be queen.

According to Kensington Palace, she was admitted to the hospital on January 16 for planned surgery, then left on January 29, to recuperate at home until at least Easter on March 31.

The contentious photograph, published on all royal social media channels and widely picked up in Britain and across the world, was accompanied by a message signed by Kate.

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

But in a note to clients, AFP said it withdrew the image after it had “come to light that the handout issued by Kensington Palace today of Kate and the kids had been altered”.

The AP said it had retracted the image because on “closer inspection, it appeared the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards”. Reuters said similar.

– Health woes –

British newspapers quickly changed their front pages late on Sunday to reflect the brewing controversy.

Royal officials have not specified the nature of Kate’s operation but have said it was not cancer-related.

Earlier this month, a snatched photograph said to have been of Kate wearing sunglasses while being driven by her mother were published on the celebrity news site TMZ.

The sighting, said to have been near William and Kate’s Windsor home west of London, also failed to dampen conspiracy theories on social media about Kate’s absence from the spotlight.

The announcement about Kate’s hospital admission came just before another about her father-in-law’s treatment for a benign enlarged prostate.

It was then announced that he had been diagnosed with an unrelated — but so far unspecified — cancer, which has forced him to cancel public engagements, barring some official meetings.

Charles, 75, has only been king and British head of state since the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.

His wife, Queen Camilla, 76, has since stepped up to take the lead as the royals’ most senior figure at public events.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)