A picture of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announcing the Duchess’ pregnancy with Lilibet was edited after it was taken, it has been revealed.
Misan Harriman, the London-based photographer who took the intimate black-and-white photo of the royal couple in 2021, which was shared around the world to announce Meghan’s second pregnancy, has previously discussed how the final image was not quite what he had. originally taken and that the file had been edited.
In a rerun of the Private Passions podcast on BBC Radio 3, the Sussexes’ long-time friend Mr Harriman said: ‘It’s amazing what you can do with technology’ as he explained how the final image had been created, describing as ‘virtual shooting’.
It comes as friends of Harry and Meghan waded into the social media storm surrounding Kensington Palace’s photo-editing hoax after the Princess of Wales admitted to ‘experimenting with editing’ on the Mother’s Day photo of herself with her children.
Earlier today, sources close to the Sussexes said Harry and Meghan would have been ‘wiped out’ if they had made the same Photoshop mistake as Kate – but added that the Duchess would not have let up because of ‘freakish attention to detail’ ‘.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s camp have been branded “hypocrites” after it emerged their pregnancy photo had been doctored
But after it emerged that the picture-perfect photo of Harry and Meghan’s second baby announcement was doctored to add a willow tree in the background, royal expert Angela Levin branded the couple’s camp ‘hypocrites’.
She told The sun: ‘A tree was cropped in their photograph to create a special background, so how dare their camp say anything about Catherine’s?’
In a repost of Mr Harriman on the Private Passions podcast, the photographer said: ‘My most famous virtual shoot is the portrait I took of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announcing their pregnancy.’
He revealed he took the photo remotely as he was away from the royal couple during the pandemic and used technology that allowed him to communicate with the Sussexes, telling them how to pose while he remotely pressed the shutter from a completely different place.
The podcast host added: ‘They weren’t actually under a willow tree were they? They were lying outside in a meadow, weren’t they?’
Sir. Harriman replied: ‘Yes, they were lost in their love, at home, in their garden, comfortable, celebrating new joy.’
The Princess of Wales admitted on Monday that the Mother’s Day photo released by Kensington Palace had been photoshopped
The revelation comes as the Princess of Wales is said to be “feeling miserable” after a social media storm caused by a photoshopped image released by Kensington Palace on Sunday to mark Mother’s Day.
Bizarre and unsubstantiated conspiracy theories were fueled by the ‘photoshopped’ image of Kate, 42, and her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, eight and Prince Louis, five, after international news agencies issued killing sprees on Snap.
As the theories threaten to spiral out of control, many have suggested that the speculation could be quashed if Kensington Palace released the original photo of Kate and her children before it had been edited.
And seasoned royal fans may recall that this is exactly how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex handled their own “photoshop-gate” when they were accused of altering their 2019 Christmas card featuring Prince Archie.
Fans believed the adorable photo of the couple with their eldest son may have been edited because Meghan’s face was in sharp focus, despite her being in the back of the photo.
The picture shows Harry and Meghan smiling as they sit on the ground by their Christmas tree, while Archie, then just over six months old, crawled towards the camera with a curious expression.
After people discovered that Meghan’s face was more in focus than Harry’s, despite the couple both being in the background of the snap, social media was ablaze with theories that the snap had been edited to bring the Duchess closer into focus.
“Check out Meghan’s face, it’s photoshopped. Her face is clear and everything else is blurred. Archie’s is also photoshopped,” one person claimed.
Another wrote on X/Twitter: ‘This is possibly the worst photoshopped image I’ve ever seen. And again with the black and white.’
The card was not officially released through any official royal channels and first appeared on an unverified X account called The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust.
Despite mass speculation that the snap may have been altered, Meghan’s friend Janina Gavankar, who claims to have taken the photo, shared the original frame on her Instagram account – which appeared to be the exact same image as the later version, that was shared on the X account.
She posted the photo with the caption: ‘So proud to have taken the Christmas photo of one of my best friends and her family’ and clarified that it was the original.
After Kate confirmed on Monday that she had edited the Mother’s Day photo published on the Prince and Princess of Wales’ official channels, many suggested she could easily shut down speculation about what had happened by do the same and share the original, unedited image.
Kate’s statement read: “Like many amateur photographers, I occasionally experiment with editing.
‘I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion caused by the family photo we shared yesterday. I hope everyone who celebrated had a really happy Mother’s Day.’
It has been claimed today that following the gaffe the Princess of Wales ‘feels miserable’ and is likely to be in a ‘fragile mental and physical state’.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond, who has reported on the royal family for decades, told GB News it was time people ‘sacked’ the princess after the scandal.
She said Kate ‘must feel under intense pressure now to be seen in public’ following her major operation in January.
Despite calls for the original image to be published, Kensington Palace insisted it would not re-release the unedited photograph of Kate and her children.
And Mrs Bond warned against ‘bullying her into posting all the pictures’, adding that the 42-year-old mother-of-three would feel ‘absolutely miserable’.
She said Kate’s Mother’s Day was “obviously ruined by this row” and she “didn’t look too happy” when she was photographed yesterday in a car with William.
Mrs Bond told GB News: ‘We are at risk of bullying a lady who is trying to recover from a very serious operation. I’m thinking how she must be feeling this morning. Absolutely miserable, I think.
‘Her mother’s day was obviously ruined by this fuss. She was photographed yesterday in the car with William. From what we can see, she didn’t look too happy, she must feel under intense pressure now every time she has to be seen in public.
‘The pressure is doubled and redoubled. I think she is in a fragile mental and physical state. And we should fire her.’