King Charles III has entered the conversation around Princess Kate’s photo controversy.

The royal family has dominated headlines since early this week, when major news agencies killed distribution of a portrait of Kate with her three children, alleging the image had been excessively manipulated. The unprecedented move prompted Kensington Palace to issue a rare personal apology attributed to the princess, who admitted to “occasionally experiment[ing] with editing” as an “amateur photographer.”

Following this, social media has been inundated with theories and speculation about Kate’s months-long absence from public life, which the palace abruptly announced in mid-January was due to a “planned abdominal surgery” she’d undergone at the London Clinic.
But how is King Charles feeling about this frenzied news cycle?

A source at Buckingham Palace tells Bazaar that the monarch, who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, is being “kept abreast” of the latest developments. But, he ultimately “isn’t too concerned” about the current situation.

While the king keeps calm over the drama, other staffers at the palace don’t seem to share the same sentiment.

The insider adds, “Some staff can’t quite believe how badly [Kensington Palace] have cocked things up by not paying close enough attention to what was being released to the world. Didn’t anyone there think to check the photo before it went out?”

Kensington Palace released the portrait of Kate on Sunday morning to mark Britain’s Mother’s Day, but agencies like Associated Press, Reuters, and Getty Images retracted the photo just hours later after concerns were raised over various glaring Photoshop errors. A part of Princess Charlotte’s sleeve was missing, for example, and the zipper on Kate’s jacket appeared inconsistent with the rest of the outerwear.

“[While] this is all rather unfortunate, there is also a sense that, despite the hysteria and fevered online response, it will also blow over soon,” the palace source continues. “This is not the first storm to hit these parts!”

As for how Kate is dealing with the situation, another source says that she is “doing well, all things considered,” and that she left their Windsor home at least three times in the past two weeks. During one instance over a week ago, the source describes her as “smiling, upbeat, and enjoying being out.”

“[This situation] has caused some stress for the princess, but she tends not to pay attention to online chatter or even the press,” the insider adds. “I think people forget that this was simply a mother wanting her family to look their best in a photograph that was going to be heavily scrutinized. She was protecting her children.”