Watch: Prince William shared touching post about Kate Middleton

The widespread social media controversy that surrounded Princess Kate’s edited Mother’s Day photo in March will be looked back on as a “fever dream,” after the announcement that the royal is battling cancer sparked a boost in public support, according to a new episode of Newsweek’s The Royal Report podcast.

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Kate was at the center of a social media storm after the photo was released by Kensington Palace on March 10, showing the princess surrounded by her three children.

The widespread social media controversy that surrounded Princess Kate’s edited Mother’s Day photo in March will be looked back on as a “fever dream,” after the announcement that the royal is battling cancer sparked a boost in public support, according to a new episode of Newsweek’s The Royal Report podcast.

Kate was at the center of a social media storm after the photo was released by Kensington Palace on March 10, showing the princess surrounded by her three children.

Users quickly identified traces of editing throughout the frame, leading to a spike in conspiracy theories and speculation about Kate’s health and whereabouts as she continued to take time out of the public eye while recovering from abdominal surgery.

The princess issued a public apology, admitting that “like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing.” This, however, did little to assuage the growing controversy, which led photo agencies to issue “kill” notices to cease publication of the image, and the director of one leading news agency to label Kensington Palace an un-trustworthy source because of it.

The photo incident continued to generate speculation and worldwide press coverage for the next two weeks, until, on March 22, Kate made a global announcement via video message that her public absence had been, in part, due to being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing the preliminary course of preventative chemotherapy.

Speaking to Royal Report listeners, Newsweek’s chief royal correspondent, Jack Royston, discussed the photo controversy in the context of Kate’s illness.

“It is and was completely extraordinary that the Mother’s Day photo was edited and then put out by Kensington Palace without anyone picking up on it,” he said. “And the whole saga of, you know, picture agencies killing the image, issuing a kill notice because there was evidence of manipulation. I mean, it was completely wild.”

“I think we’ll look back on it in years to come in royal reporting almost like it was a fever dream. And, you know, almost as though it never happened.”