Kate Middleton, Prince William Astonished at Mothers Day Photo Controversy [Video]

Prince William, Kate Middleton and their staff at Kensington Palace were reportedly “astonished” at the reaction to the photo the couple posted on Mother’s Day in the U.K. this year, a royal book claims.

In an update to Robert Hardman’s book Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, excerpted in the Mail on Sunday,  the author writes that the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 42, found the reaction to the Mother’s Day photo — which featured Kate seated outdoors, surrounded by her three kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — “extremely disproportionate.”

The palace generally refrains from commenting on books written about members of the royal family.

The photo, posted on March 10, followed weeks of speculation as to the Princess of Wales’ whereabouts following what officials described as a “planned abdominal surgery”on January 16. Following the announcement about her surgery — which happened the …