Sophie and Prince Edward make brutal error after Kate Middleton row

Sophie and Prince Edward have made a Royal Family blunder after the earlier Princess Kate controversy. Sophie and Prince Edward appear to have digitally manipulated a photo - months on from the row over Kate and Prince William's same error.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, have created a Christmas card that pays homage to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's time in Malta. The card features two photographs side by side ahead of the December 25 celebration later this week.

The card shows the late Queen and Prince Philip during their early days in Malta when they held the Edinburgh titles, and another of Edward and Sophie taken during their October visit to the Mediterranean island.

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But the pair appear to have digitally altered theirs, flipping it to mirror the late Duke of Edinburgh, who died back in 2021, and late Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland back in September 2022.

Edward and Sophie included a personal message: "The Edinburghs at Villa Guardamangia, Valettta in Malta, some 75 years apart." Earlier this year, Kensington Palace released an apparently candid photograph last weekend of the Princess of Wales and her children.

But after multiple clumsy edits to the photo were identified, five leading photo agencies issued an almost unprecedented “kill notice” of the “manipulated” image. “At closer inspection, it appears that the source has manipulated the image,” the AP notice said.

A spokesperson for AP told the Telegraph: “The photo shows an inconsistency in the alignment of Princess Charlotte’s left hand.” AFP said: “Mandatory kill. Due to an editorial issue this photo by the Prince of Wales has been withdrawn … and may no longer by used in any manner. Please immediately remove it from all your online services, stop using it in any other fashion and delete it from your servers.”

Reuters said in a statement it had withdrawn the picture following a post-publication review. “We are reviewing the matter,” a spokesperson said.