An investigation is underway over allegations hospital staff tried to access Princess Kate’s private medical records.

The London Clinic launched the investigation following revelations at least one staff member tried to gain access to the Princess of Wales’ notes at the Marylebone hospital where she had abdominal surgery in January.

“This is a major security breach and incredibly damaging for the hospital, given its unblemished reputation for treating members of the Royal Family,” an unnamed source told The Mirror.

“Senior hospital bosses contacted Kensington Palace immediately after the incident was brought to their attention and assured the palace there would be a full investigation.

“The whole medical staff have been left utterly shocked and distraught over the allegations and were very hurt that a trusted colleague could have allegedly been responsible for such a breach of trust and ethics.”

The London Clinic would not directly comment on the allegations, nor would the Metropolitan Police confirm it had been notified of the claims.

A spokesperson told The Mirror: “We firmly believe that all our patients, no matter their status, deserve total privacy and confidentiality regarding their medical information.”

Kensington Palace said in a statement: “This is a matter for The London Clinic.”

The reports of the security breach come a day after Kate and husband Prince William were spotted at a local shop over the past weekend.

Video showed the pair walking and talking together. It was the first sighting of Kate since Christmas, apart from two blurry paparazzi images.

Meanwhile, a second royal photograph issued to the media by Kensington Palace has been found to have been digitally altered in eight places, Reuters said, after an analysis of the picture by its photo editors.

Tweet from @KensingtonRoyal

The picture, released in April last year to mark what would have been the 97th birthday of the late Queen Elizabeth, showed the former monarch surrounded by some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Kensington Palace said at the time it had been taken by the Princess of Wales, 42, at the Scottish royal residence Balmoral Castle the previous summer.

On Tuesday (British time), Getty Images flagged to its clients that the Balmoral picture had been “digitally enhanced at source”, without giving further details.

“Getty Images is undertaking a review of handout images and in accordance with its editorial policy is placing an editor’s note on images where the source has suggested they could be digitally enhanced,” a spokesperson said.

While Getty, Reuters and other news organisations did not at the time spot any issues with the handout, Reuters’ examination of the photograph found eight places where the picture had been clearly altered by digital cloning.

Reuters could not immediately establish why the alterations were made.

Digital cloning involves copying pixels to either move or mask objects or areas in a photo.

Kensington Palace has declined to comment on the photograph.

“Reuters is updating its procedures related to vetting images from Kensington Palace after confirming a second altered photograph,” a Reuters spokesperson said.

“Consistent with the Thomson Reuters Trust Principles, Reuters requires that photos meet its editorial standards for image quality, accuracy and reliability.”

Last week, Reuters and several other leading news organisations withdrew a photograph of Kate with her three children that was issued by the palace to mark Mother’s Day. Post-publication analysis showed it did not meet the agencies’ editorial standards.

The following day, Kate issued an apology for any confusion.

“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she said in a statement on X.

“I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused.”

– with AAP