King Charles turning to Prince Edward, Sophie amid Kate Middleton photo crisis

King Charles is seemingly looking at a substitute for his star royal, Kate Middleton, who is currently recovering from her abdominal surgery.

While Kate seemingly resurfaced on social media after a two months hiatus for a Mother’s Day greeting. Her photo was ‘killed’ by international photo agencies over claims of ‘manipulations.’

When Charles ascended to the throne, all eyes were on Prince William and Princess Kate to helm a big portion of the royal duties and be representatives of the king’s reign. However, the monarch was faced with unexpected crisis, with his cancer diagnosis and Kate’s surgery and prolonged post-op recovery.

Now, Charles will be relying more on Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, who are already senior members and have a good reputation in the public.

Prince Edward and his wife Sophie have been taking on more royal duties to fill in the gaps for the monarch and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

“I think the King is likely to rely more on Edward and Sophie in the future,” royal expert Pauline Maclaran told Express.co.uk.

“This is especially so as regards Sophie who has proved popular with the public and she also helps boost the feminine face of the monarchy given that it risks being perceived as very masculine due to the future lineage.”

She continued, “The women have been coming more to the fore in recent years (rather than just their husband’s support system) and Sophie is potentially part of this. We have seen more of her lately and this is likely to continue.”

Many have previously speculated that Sophie will be ‘Kate’s Anne’ once she becomes Queen Consort. Princess Anne has played a major role in supporting her late mother Queen Elizabeth and now her brother King Charles.