Kate Middleton was ‘thrown under a bus’ by ‘disgraceful’ Kensington officials and ‘unfriendly’ Prince William – who made her take the blame for Mother’s Day photo blunder, Richard Eden tells Palace Confidential

The Princess of Wales has been ‘thrown under a bus’ – and her husband was ‘unkind’ in putting the ‘burden’ on her to take the blame for the Mother’s Day photo blunder – a royal expert has said.

This was told by Richard Eden, diary editor of the Daily Mail Palace confidential that Kensington officials behaved “disgracefully” after Kate Middleton shared a statement on social media apologizing “for any confusion” the photo posted Sunday caused.

“I’m just so sad and a little frustrated about the whole thing because I feel so sorry for Catherine,” he told Jo Elvin and Richard Kay.

‘Basically she’s under so much pressure from people saying, ‘we want a picture, we want to know how she’s doing, tell us how she’s doing’, things like that.

‘And she ends up giving out this photo, which was taken by Prince William – they make that clear when they give out the photo.

“It’s not anything personal, it was released by Kensington Palace communications people and then she was thrown under a bus.”

Richard said Kate was obliged or agreed to publish the personally signed statement.

“I think it’s a shame,” he continued. ‘It is very rude of Prince William to put the responsibility on her. For heaven’s sake, he’s the one who took the photo.

“And the officials made it public. They spread it, it’s their job. I think it’s absolutely disgraceful that they told her, “Go and explain what you did.” No, it’s your job.

“Take some responsibility.”

Richard also criticized the advisers surrounding the Prince and Princess of Wales, saying they needed “good and strong” people around them.

“You don’t want any pathetic ‘yes men,'” he said. “They would certainly benefit from stronger officials here and I wouldn’t be surprised if heads roll over this, if not now… then eventually.”

However, Richard Kay said later in the show that the extent of the internal fallout would be unclear at this stage.

“Heads may roll, heads have rolled for the smaller offenses I’ve seen over the years,” he added.

“Poor, hapless press officers have been given their marching orders, but it seems a bit unfair to blame the clerks if you like.”

Richard Eden also said he isn’t convinced Kate was behind the photo editing blunder, admitting the whole situation felt ‘weird’.

“I think maybe on this occasion they could have invited a photographer instead of asking her husband,” he continued.

“I mean, it looks like maybe someone came over to help do hair and makeup and stuff… so maybe a hairdresser came over so one of the very talented photographers could have come in.”

It comes as – in a stunning twist – the royal family admitted on Monday that she ‘edited’ an image of her celebrating Mother’s Sunday with her children.

The princess said in a rare personal message on X, formerly known as Twitter, that she ‘occasionally experimented’ as an ‘amateur photographer’.

She apologized for the “confusion” the photo had caused after six global photo agencies sensationally withdrew the image from their cell towers and libraries – an unprecedented response to an official royal photo – amid fears that “the source manipulated the image ‘.

The agencies’ murder announcements added fuel to the fire, as a litany of conspiracy theories about Kate’s health continue to swirl.

There were questions about everything from why Princess Charlotte’s wrist didn’t match the sleeve of her cardigan, to Prince Louis’ strange fingers.

The photo of Kate and her children, which Prince William took at the parental home in Windsor on Friday, was the first to be published since her abdominal surgery in January.

While the couple has regularly released something personal to mark Mother’s Day, it was hoped the photo would also quell cruel speculation on social media about the nature of the princess’s condition.

Instead, the royal blunder resulted in another public explosion of conspiracy theories.

The princess publicly took the blame for the uproar, writing: ‘Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.

“I wanted to apologize for any confusion the family photo we shared yesterday caused.

‘I hope everyone who celebrated had a happy Mother’s Day. C.’

Kensington Palace said it would not reissue the unedited photo of Kate and her children, which in itself sparked further debate.

Earlier this week, the Palace faced mounting pressure over the debacle, with claims it has damaged public confidence. The row overshadowed Monday’s coronation service at Westminster Abbey, which was led for the first time by Queen Camilla – accompanied by Prince William – in the king’s absence while he undergoes cancer treatment. His Majesty instead recorded a video message for the first time.

Kate was also seen in the backseat of a car with her husband that day as he left Windsor to travel to London for two public engagements. It is understood she was on her way to a ‘private appointment’ and was not accompanying William in public.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that her ‘sudden appearance is not a dignified response’ to what happened.

He said: ‘When journalists said they wanted to ‘see’ Catherine, no one, as I understand it, meant it this way. A sudden appearance, which she has just made, is a knee-jerk reaction that lacks what royals should have, which is dignity.

“This case has also overshadowed Commonwealth Day. There should never have been two and a half months where she seemed to disappear; we should have felt like we were in touch at times, while what was important was that she felt she had kept her privacy.

‘William and Catherine are under enormous pressure, which is especially devastating when someone has been as seriously ill as they have. However, the photo editing mistake, while extremely embarrassing, is not a major disaster.

‘It shows that she is looking good again and that her children look very happy. However, their current handling of public relations is potentially dangerous.

“What the small but growing number of Republicans want is to mock the monarchy.

‘While Queen Elizabeth was alive this was virtually impossible. The ill health and crises faced by the Sussexes and Yorks have given them good opportunities. Public relations in the palaces must be responsive and disciplined, which is clearly not the case. William and Catherine are the world’s most glamorous and high-profile royal couple.

‘They need dignity to continue to do good for their charities and project soft power in a way no one else can do for Britain.

“They need to put this embarrassing episode behind them and appear confident in public. It will take time and common sense to keep in touch, people will respond…’