Photo agency behind Kate Middleton, Prince William SUV photo responds to claims it was doctored

A photo agency has responded to speculation that another recent photo of Catherine, Princess of Wales, was digitally manipulated.

The picture in question involved the former Kate Middleton on March 11 leaving Windsor Castle in a Range Rover with husband Prince William.

In the wake of Kate sharing that a previously released photo of her with her children had been edited, the picture of her in the SUV with William generated more questions on social media about whether it also had been manipulated.

Goff Photos, the agency that took the picture, said in a statement on March 12 that the "images of the Prince and Princess of Wales in the back of the Range Rover have been cropped and lightened" but that "nothing has been doctored!"

NBC News also found no evidence the picture had been digitally altered.

Still, though, the picture had online sleuths offering everything from the brick background to Kate's hairstyle as proof that the photo had been digitally changed.

The Range Rover photo also continued to fuel questions about the well-being of the princess.

She has not appeared at a public event since December after undergoing an unspecified abdominal surgery in January.

However, she was snapped riding in a car with her mother near Windsor Castle on March 4. The palace didn't comment on those photos.

A royal spokesperson confirmed on Monday that William and Kate were attending a “private appointment" when they were photographed in the Range Rover.

That scene was captured just hours after Kate apologized for an edited photo of her and her children that was posted on social media by the couple's official Kensington Palace accounts.

The family photo was shared in honor of U.K. Mother’s Day on March 10. It was the first official picture released of Catherine since the surgery and showed her with her three children: Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.

However, within several hours of the photo being shared, it was retracted by major news agencies, including the Associated Press and Reuters, due to “manipulation.”

The princess then addressed the controversy on March 11 in a post on X.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," she wrote. "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.”

In late February, the palace issued another statement about her recovery from surgery, reiterating that her absence from the public eye is part of her recuperation.

“Kensington Palace made it clear in January the timelines of the Princess’ recovery and we’d only be providing significant updates,” a spokesperson for the princess said in a statement to NBC News on Feb. 29. “That guidance stands.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com