Kate Middleton and Prince William's Recent Paparazzi Shot Happened 'Unexpectedly,' Photographer Reveals

Kate Middleton and Prince William were recently photographed leaving Windsor just hours after the Princess of Wales apologized for "editing" a family photo, which fans quickly realized was altered.

"We were asked by the Mailonline to try and get an early photo of Prince William who was heading to Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day Service," Jim Bennett told an outlet. As a general rule, he noted, photographers don't change their photos "other than adjusting the light levels if necessary."

As a photographer, Bennett was looking forward to capturing William after he attended a gathering for Commonwealth Day, but unbeknownst to him, Kate was in the vehicle with her husband.

"The cars left Windsor Castle and I photographed them a short distance away on Datchet High Street — outside No.39 to be precise! Car shots are unpredictable at the best of times, and with some reflection on the glass, it can be difficult," the professional added.

"As it happened, it wasn't until I checked on the back of the camera to make sure I had a frame of Prince William that I realized there was someone sitting next to him," Bennett explained. "It turned out to be Catherine!"

Hours before Bennett spotted the future queen, she took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to take the fall for the royal scandal.

"Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing," the mom-of-three 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."

OK! previously reported the paparazzi snap became a cause of concern for Piers Morgan.

"Was it actually taken last week?" Morgan said about the social media photo. "They say so but can we believe that? If it was so awful [it needed editing] why not release one of the other photos from the archives they never released."

Kate will return to public engagements at Easter, but the photo made fans wonder about the severity of Kate's condition.

"Why is Princess Catherine, who is recovering from abdominal surgery, spending time hunched over photoshop, making amateur edits of official portraits when they literally have servants to do that. Most baffling of all, why not edit in the missing wedding ring?" he asked.

"Kate needs a break, I agree, but it was their decision to release this photograph and it's led to even more conspiracy theories," Morgan added. "On one level [the edited picture] could be trivial — she could be fine and doing well and tried to do something to correct the conspiracies and got it wrong — or it could be that they're hiding something."

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Bennett spoke to Entertainment Tonight.