Kate, Princess of Wales, pictured leaving Windsor with Prince William after controversy over ‘edited’ photograph
The Princess of Wales has been pictured leaving Windsor alongside Prince William, following controversy over a Mother’s Day photograph Kate admitted to “editing”.
Kensington Palace said the Princess of Wales left in a car with the Prince of Wales as William was driven to the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London.
Kate did not attend the service, but is understood to have a private appointment.
The Princess of Wales could be seen looking out of the window.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Royals attend Commonwealth Day service
Earlier, she apologised “for any confusion” after admitting to “editing” a controversial Mother’s Day image of her with her three children.
In a statement, Kate, 42, said: “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 photo Kate says she edited
The image was circulated by a number of picture agencies on Sunday before Reuters, Associated Press (AP), Getty Images and Agence France-Presse (AFP) told media outlets to “kill” the photo from their systems and archives.
AP told Sky News the photo showed an “inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand”.
A Reuters spokesperson said: “The altered photo didn’t meet Reuters standards of image quality” hence the withdrawal.
AFP’s deputy news editor, Eric Baradat, said there was “very strange business” surrounding the photo, especially when it was enlarged.
Mr Baradat added: “It becomes obvious that it’s been manipulated, altered, doctored… really badly. So in a way that is really amateur.”
Read more: What led to palace admission over ‘manipulated’ photo of Kate
The picture was released to celebrate Mother’s Day.
It comes following speculation surrounding Kate’s health since she spent a short period in hospital in January for abdominal surgery, shortly after her 42nd birthday.
Kensington Palace later confirmed the surgery was successful and she would be taking time to recover at home in Windsor.
King absent but ‘deeply touched’
Commonwealth Day is celebrated yearly and the association marked its 75th anniversary on Monday – though King Charles was not in attendance as he continues to receive treatment for cancer.
The event is the most significant royal occasion the monarch has missed since he was forced to postpone all public-facing duties, since the announcement was made in early February.
In a video address, the 75-year-old highlighted how “diversity” was the Commonwealth’s core “strength”, and the union of 56 member countries was a “precious source of strength, inspiration, and pride” to him.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
King ‘deeply touched’ by good wishes
Charles said in the pre-recorded message: “In recent weeks, I have been most deeply touched by your wonderfully kind and thoughtful good wishes for my health and, in return, can only continue to serve you, to the best of my ability, throughout the Commonwealth.
“My belief in our shared endeavours and in the potential in our people remains as sure and strong as it has ever been. I have no doubt that we will continue to support one another across the Commonwealth, as together, we continue this vital journey.”
Prince William and Queen Camilla, who wore a turquoise coat and hat, attended the service along with other royals including the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne, and the Duke of Kent.
Queen Camilla and Prince William attended the ceremony. Pic: Reuters
The ceremony featured performances from Ugandan dance troupe The Ghetto Kids which made the royals smile with their traditional music and moves, Canadian pianist Spencer Klymyshyn, and a New Zealand soprano and baritone duo Isabella Moore and Benson Wilson.
Read more:
Kate photo: ‘An intern doing that wouldn’t get a job’
Prince Edward wipes away tears during heartfelt birthday speech
‘Down with the Crown’
Meanwhile, outside Westminster Abbey anti-monarchy protesters from Republic held yellow placards reading “Down with the Crown” while also chanting loudly and banging drums.
Anti-monarchy protesters outside the abbey chanted and held up placards.
Pic: Reuters
Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, denounced the royals saying they “need to stop using the Commonwealth as a vehicle for their own PR”.
Mr Smith added: “The platitudes we hear from Charles and Camilla only serve to paper over serious concerns about human rights abuses and a lack of democracy in many Commonwealth countries.”
He said the Royal Family gained from slavery over time and “presided over an empire” which “damaged people’s lives”.
A workman saved a seven-year-old boy from a burning car in the aftermath of a deadly crash caused by a suicidal ex-pilot, an inquest has heard.
The schoolboy’s rescue came following the collision on the M6, which killed former RAF man Richard Woods and four others, in October last year.
Last week a coroner ruled that Woods, 40, took his own life by deliberately driving his Skoda the wrong way down the motorway while drunk and hitting a Toyota Yaris head-on.
The driver of the Toyota, Jaroslaw Rossa, 42, was also killed, along with his two sons, Filip, 15, and Dominic, seven, and his partner Jade McEnroe, 33.
Cockermouth Coroner’s Court heard on Thursday that Ms McEnroe’s son was also in the car but survived after workman Gavin Walsh came to his rescue at the scene, which was near Tebay services in Cumbria.
In a statement to the inquest, Mr Walsh said he was a passenger in a transit van travelling to Scotland when he witnessed the crash.
He jumped out of the vehicle and used a jack to smash the rear windscreen of the Toyota and pulled the boy out of the burning vehicle.
Mr Walsh said: “We really did try, I can assure everyone we did our best. We only had minimal time.
“I saved a life that day and I hope never to witness anything like that again.”
He added that he has never stopped thinking about the boy, and said: “I hope we will meet again one day and I will give you a massive hug.”
At the time, the family were returning to Glasgow from a trip to Legoland in Windsor, Berkshire.
The inquest heard that Wood, who was travelling at a speed of at least 65mph, would have been charged with manslaughter had he survived.
Recording conclusions of unlawful killing, Cumbria assistant coroner Margaret Taylor said: “I found that Jaroslaw, Jade, Filip and Dominic died as a consequence of the unlawful acts of another driver.”
The inquest heard how Mr Woods, from Cambridgeshire, had served a distinguished 14-year career in the RAF and was a flight instructor for BAE Systems at the time of his death.
Jade McEnroe. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Dominic and Filip. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
In Ms Taylor’s record of inquest, Mr Woods was said to have been experiencing “a number of stressors in his life” and had a “history of harmful use of alcohol”.
Following the crash, he was found to be nearly four times over the legal drink-drive limit and a two-thirds empty bottle of gin was found in his car.
On the day of his death, concerns had been raised over his behaviour at a work conference near Preston in Lancashire.
Mr Woods failed to return to his seat after lunch and was later spotted driving erratically and swerving across three northbound carriageway lanes on the M6.
After pulling onto the hard shoulder, he then proceeded to U-turn and drove southward on lane three.
Filip, Dominic and Jaroslaw Rossa. Pic: Cumbria Constabulary
Detective Sergeant Deborah Story, from Cumbria Police, told the inquest that Mr Woods would have been prosecuted on four counts of manslaughter had he lived.
She said hypothetical charges of murder were considered by detectives but not thought appropriate because of a lack of information that Mr Woods knew the family or anything that provided a link between them.
Ms McEnroe’s parents, Marie McEnroe and George McNellis, told the coroner they thought it was “murder”.
Read more from Sky News:
Luton Airport expansion approved
Prince Harry responds to charity row
Appeal launched to help earthquake victims
A statement from the mother of Filip and Dominic, and the ex-wife of Mr Rossa, Kamila, was read out at the inquest.
She said Mr Rossa, known as Jarek, was born in Poland where they became a couple and went on to have three boys.
He loved playing computer games and had “lots of friends”, she said, and worked at the Wagamama restaurant in Silverburn, Glasgow.
She said she was “devastated” over the deaths, adding: “Our lives will never be the same.
“I am heartbroken at the passing of my beloved angels Filip and Dominic.”
Marie McEnroe said her daughter, a spa therapist, had been in a relationship with Mr Rossa for about two-and-a-half years.
She said Jade had been a “brilliant mother” to her only child, was “really happy” with Mr Rossa and it was “lovely chaos” when all the boys were playing together.
Ms McEnroe added: “Life changed forever that day”.
Ms Taylor praised the “selfless acts of bravery” from those in the aftermath of the collision, including Mr Walsh, who she said went towards the burning car “without hesitation for his own safety”.
The coroner added: “Without his swift response, Jade’s child would also have perished.”
Addressing the bereaved family members, she said: “Your loss is unimaginable but you have conducted yourself with dignity and I thank you for that. I wish you strength for the future.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports12 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway