The Princess of Wales stars in new photo and releases a personal message© The Prince of Wales

Did the latest photo of the Princess of Wales and her kids reveal something new about Prince Louis?

Prince William and Catherine’s youngest child turns six in April


MARCH 12, 2024 11:27 AM EDT

 Prince Louis  appears to have lost a tooth! The  Prince  and  Princess of Wales ’ youngest child seems to be missing a bottom tooth in the latest photo of Catherine and her three children, which was released to celebrate Mother’s Day in the UK on Sunday (March 10). The five-year-old Prince is seen in the picture flashing a toothy grin as he and his older siblings,  Prince George , 10, and  Princess Charlotte , 8, surround their mother, who was pictured sitting down.

Following its release, the picture, taken by Prince William in Windsor, sparked a frenzy online with social media users pointing out inconsistencies in the photo, including the sleeve of Princess Charlotte’s cardigan and the pattern of Louis’ sweater.

© The Prince of Wales' via Instagram/PrinceandPrincessofWales

Prince Louis appears to be missing a bottom tooth in the picture with his mom and siblings

A kill notice was issued for the picture on Sunday. The Associated Press explained on X (formerly Twitter) that the photo had been retracted “because at closer inspection, it appeared that the source had manipulated the image in a way that did not meet AP’s photo standards.”

The Princess of Wales issued an apology on Monday, admitting in her statement that she occasionally experiments with editing. Catherine 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,” she added, signing the message off with a “C.”

According to  Reuters , a royal source said that Her Royal Highness had wanted to post an informal picture of her family to mark Mother’s Day and had made minor adjustments to the picture. The picture’s metadata reportedly shows that the image was saved twice on Adobe Photoshop.

The Princess of Wales has been recovering from abdominal surgery since mid-January. In a statement on Jan. 17, informing the public of the surgery, Kensington Palace noted that “based on the current medical advice, she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”

Hours after apologizing for the Mother’s Day photo on March 11, Catherine was photographed leaving Windsor Castle with Prince William, who was heading to London’s Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service. Meanwhile, the  MailOnline  reported that the Princess of Wales was going to a “private appointment.”