Kate Middleton's uncle says picture pulled from agencies due to photoshop claims is 'really genuine'

The Princess of Wales’s uncle has described the first picture of the royal since her surgery as “beautiful” and “really genuine”.

The image of Kate and her children, said by the palace to have been taken by the Prince of Wales, was posted on social media.

The photograph was shared with media on Sunday but it was withdrawn by international picture agencies later the same day because of concerns that the image had been manipulated.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain about the image, Gary Goldsmith said: “The smiles on faces said it all for me, I thought it was beautiful.

“Obviously the family wouldn’t be the ones to do any touch-ups, so if that’s gone through some filter before it’s gone out to the broader world, but they wouldn’t be doing photoshopping themselves.

“But all I was looking at is the faces and the smiles and it just looks like a beautiful family that they are, and they look really genuine, smiles on faces. And this whole ‘sleevegate’ thing, just leave it alone.”

Mr Goldsmith said he had not spoken to Kate in “maybe a year”.

Kensington Palace is under pressure to answer questions about whether the first picture of the Princess of Wales to be released after her surgery has been digitally altered.

Kensington Palace has not yet commented on the concerns raised about the picture.