Princess Diana appears in an image with Catherine and Princess Charlotte on the day of her christening. Photo / Facebook
Princess Diana appears in an image with Catherine and Princess Charlotte on the day of her christening. Photo / Facebook
It's an image that is bound to divide opinion - a Photoshopped picture of Princess Diana looking over Princess Charlotte at her christening, held by the Duchess of Cambridge.
The photo, which has been shared 260,000 times on Facebook, shows Kate carrying her daughter into the service at St MagdaleneChurch in Sandringham in July, with Diana - taken from an image of her with Mother Teresa in 1997 - bending down, hands clasped together.
While it is unclear who created the image, which has been branded both "beautiful" and "creepy", it was shared by Mary Kohnke, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the caption: "What a great job at photoshopping ... Let's make this go viral!"
And it seems that Mary's attempts to spread the snap have worked; it has been shared 267,157 times, has generated 31,331 likes and received 2,539 comments since she posted it on August 4.
The comments on the image, which is public on the social media site, include: "Oh how I wish this were real", "this is a lovely sentiment. miss our Princess Diana" and "wow! it gives me goose bumps!!".
The original image of Catherine and Princess Charlotte. Photo / Getty Images
The original version of the Princess Diana image used is from August 1997 - just two months before her tragic death, when she was killed in a car crash in Paris.
In the original image, the Princess of Wales can be seen bowing to Mother Teresa, the foundress of the Missionaries of Charity, after the two met briefly at the Missionaries of Charity's residence in the Bronx section of New York.
The Princess of Wales bonds with Mother Teresa in New York in 1997. Photo / Getty Images
Ever since his mother's untimely death in August 1997, Prince William has ensured the memory of his mother is at the heart of his life both as a husband and a father.
Indeed, he and Kate chose "Diana" as one of Princess Charlotte's middle names, the church for Princess Charlotte's service at Sandringham was where Diana was baptised in 1961, and even the choice of godparents was telling.
Laura Fellowes, 34, is William's cousin and Diana's niece, while Thomas van Straubenzee also has links to Diana.
William and Kate's decision to make their country home in Norfolk and not Gloucestershire, where Charles has his home, was seen by many as another nod to his mother.
Just along the coast from Anmer Hall, the Spencers had a beach hut at Brancaster, where the Cambridges like to walk their dog, Lupo.
The photography on the day of the christening for Princess Charlotte, who is now three months, was entrusted to Mario Testino, the Peruvian-born photographer who shot the last official pictures of Diana.
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