In March 2024, Princess Kate and Prince William faced an unexpected scandal when they shared a photo on Instagram in honor of Mother’s Day. It was later revealed that the picture, which showed the Princess of Wales with her three children—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—had been Photoshopped. Now, a royal expert has opened up about how the British government reacted to the situation, which allegedly left the royals “bruised” and “upset.”

Speaking to GB News, royal expert Valentine Low revealed how the British government probably reacted to Princess Kate’s Mother’s Day photo scandal. “I don’t know exactly what Downing Street thought, but I suspect they would have considered the palace foolish and unprofessional,” Low told the outlet.

He continued, “At the same time, they would have had sympathy for them, and they absolutely were not going to do anything that would make matters worse. That is how I imagine the Downing Street [residence of the prime minister] view to be.”

Kate and William‘s photo scandal occurred at a time when the Princess of Wales had retreated from public life. Prior to announcing her cancer diagnosis, conspiracy theories festered online, and the family’s altered photo only added to the supposed mystery.

The Princess of Wales apologized for the photograph, which she claimed to have edited herself at home. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” Kate wrote on X at the time. “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.”

Following the incident, royal biographer Robert Hardman told People, “There was a real sense then that they felt bruised by it.” He continued, “It was treated like some great fraud.” Luckily, the scandal has since subsided, and Princess Kate has been welcomed back into public life with open arms.