The issue with the edited image only added fuel to the fire because both Kate and the Palace have already been accused of not providing information regarding her health and her whereabouts.

The Sun’s royal photographer, Arthur Edwards, said the Princess of Wales has learned a “tough and very public lesson” breaking the “golden rule.”

“It’s a golden rule that while you can crop a picture, you never, ever interfere with the image itself. Kate shouldn’t have done it, and she was right to put her hand up and admit to her mistake so quickly,” Edwards said, adding that social media have been overflowing with “disgusting bile and hateful comments about her.”

“Now the conspiracies are flying thick and fast — not that these people need any encouragement. These cheap shots at Kate will be upsetting for her.”

As per some experts, among which Edwards, the Palace could have put a stop to the speculations had they released the unedited version of the photo.

“But of course this comes amid all the speculation as to what’s happening with Kate, who, bar a brief picture yesterday and last week, none of us has seen since December. So many people — myself included — have been eager for an update on the Princess of Wales’s health since she underwent abdominal surgery in January.”

Edwards added, “A bodged attempt at photographic manipulation may have been, but I still think it’s a delightful image. Kate looks radiant and so proud on Mother’s Day, surrounded by her loving kids. It’s full of uplifting love and emotion.”

In an interview with Fox, royal expert Hilary Fordwich said the palace is responsible for what she calls “yet another public relations disaster.”

“The certainty is that a ‘slimmed down monarchy’ means fewer are guiding the royals and those who are aren’t as media savvy as they need to be,” Fordwich said. “In our fast-paced world with tech-savvy media outlets, the palaces need to hire the best and brightest in such fields.

“While this certainly isn’t ‘business as usual’ nor what we would expect from a royal household… it shows great humility to admit one’s mistakes,” Fordwich continued. “Others might have either remained silent or tried to blame another. Kate issued a straight-up, no-nonsense apology. Many could learn a lesson from such.”

The question that raises is whether the Palace is doing enough to protect Kate Middleton, and according to royal expert and author Tom Bower, they are not.

“People around the world just want to bring her down because it gives them pleasure. And then, when she did, they should have got a professional photographer in to make sure there were no hiccups like has now occurred,” Bower told The Sun.

He continued: “She’s undergone the most very serious operation imaginable. She needs a long time to recover. And I fear that she has been under terrible pressure to perform and instead of protecting her, her staff in Kensington Palace, failed to give her the support and protection she needs.”

In addition, Bower believes that the Palace’s main focus should be help Kate recover completely instead of releasing more images.

“There are republicans and mischief makers who want to do everything now, to destroy the monarchy, to destroy Britain as it is today, who don’t share our values and see Kate as a soft target, an easy target and another target to seek to undermine British values and British tradition,” he added.

On March 22, Kate Middleton finally put a stop to the conspiracy theories when posting a video in which she revealed with the public that she’s receiving treatments for cancer.