Most of William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ holiday social media posts aren’t particularly memorable, yet most of us can surely remember their Mother’s Day post from last year (and not for good reasons). This year, however, their post for the holiday was particularly pared-down and it indicates that the royal family is desperate to avoid another PR nightmare.
Kate spent the better part of 2024 out of the public eye while undergoing cancer treatment. During this time, back-and-forth rumors proved just how messy her PR team was. Many rumors came as a result of what the royal couple posted for Mother’s Day, which sparked a fake photo controversy. In the now-infamous photo, Kate posed with her three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Yet, folks believed that certain details of the photo indicated that it had been heavily photoshopped. In response to the backlash, William and Kate’s joint account on X, formerly known as Twitter, posted a message from Kate, which read, “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.” Evidently, what was meant to be a wholesome PR moment turned into a disaster. And it’s clear based on this year’s post that the royals did everything they could to ensure that it didn’t happen again — even if it meant leaving Kate and her kids out of the post entirely.
The royals’ Mother’s Day post likely didn’t have its intended effect
These days, Kate Middleton is reportedly cancer-free and has been slowly returning to her royal duties. Yet her Mother’s Day post makes it clear that echoes of the strangeness and mistrust that boiled over between the public and the royal family during her cancer treatment still remain. To celebrate Mother’s Day, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ X account posted a video montage of nature footage. At one point, the video features a clip of Kate’s hands touching a tree. Later, there’s a clip of what appears to be William’s legs walking through grass with dogs. Otherwise, there is no sign of Kate or the kids, which is who we’d assume would be the focus of a Mother’s Day post.
Over the past year, nature has been our sanctuary. This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate Mother Nature and recognise how our bond with the natural world can help not only nurture our inner selves, but remind us too of the role we play within the rich tapestry of life. C pic.twitter.com/kAzkdmZ457
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) March 30, 2025
The tweet included the caption, “Over the past year, nature has been our sanctuary. This Mother’s Day, let us celebrate Mother Nature and recognise how our bond with the natural world can help not only nurture our inner selves, but remind us too of the role we play within the rich tapestry of life. C.” This was certainly an unusual post for the occasion. And it was seemingly an attempt to avoid posting anything that could get picked apart by the public like it did last year. Ultimately, though, it’s the strange air of mystery around the royal family and its social media posts that often causes backlash, and this post only seems to further intensify that feeling.
