Catherine, Princess of Wales may break her silence after she was reportedly "devastated" when the digitally altered photo she released for Mother's Day generated international controversy, royal insiders claim.

Barring a few paparazzi photos, the princess has not been seen in public since Christmas. On Jan. 17, Kensington Palace shared that she was admitted to the hospital for a "planned abdominal surgery" and was expected to recover in the hospital for two weeks.

But in the ensuing weeks, public speculation has grown increasingly intense, with many questioning official statements released by Kensington Palace. Rumors about the princess' whereabouts were exacerbated when several newswire services, including Agence France-Presse and the Associated Press, issued kill orders on the Mother's Day photos.

Kensington Palace failed to disclose that the photo, which was credited to Prince William, had been digitally altered. In the aftermath of the controversy, AFP announced that Kensington Palace was no longer considered a trusted source.

A friend of Catherine's told the Sunday Times, a British newspaper, that the princess was "devastated" by the public's reaction, prompting her to "own it" by apologizing on social media.

"If you want to call out the mistake, it was Kate not telling her team that she'd [edited the photo]. But she came out and said sorry. The photo was a misstep, even with something as innocent as that you should disclose altering it," the friend said. 

"But in the history of image-cropping and photo-altering to tell a story, a lot of the reaction from picture agencies was hypocritical."

While news photographers will use photo editing software to adjust the lighting and balance of images, publishing digitally altered photos is less common. Photojournalist and former chief White House photographer Pete Souza has described the photo as "fake" and not "acceptable" on social media. 

Kensington Palace originally stated that the princess would be seen again after Easter - though her friends told the Sunday Times that they meant after her children's Easter break from school, not the holiday itself on March 31.

The princess' confidants believe that she might share more information about the nature of her health issues when she returns to work, at some point in April.

"They are at their most open when out interacting with members of the public and I can see a world in which the princess might discuss her recovery out on engagements. If she was going to do it, that's how she would do it," one source told the Sunday Times.

A friend of the prince and princess added that they would "want to be clear and more open."

"They'll do it when they feel ready. I would expect that to be her instinct and it will be her call. They're not going to be rushed."