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Meghan Markle’s Original Pregnancy Announcement Picture Surfaces Amid Kate Middleton Photoshop Controversy
Misan Harriman, a friend of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, is coming out in response to claims that he altered the picture the pair posted to announce the birth of their second child, Lilibet.
Both amateur detectives and photo specialists are delving into the official image of Kate Middleton and her kids that was issued in the UK for Mother’s Day. The 42-year-old Princess of Wales apologized and said she “occasionally experiments with editing” after many international photo agencies removed the Mothering Sunday photo due to concerns about tampering.
After scrutinizing the picture more closely, the Daily Mail found sixteen problems with the Princess Kate snapshot with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, which credited Prince William as the photographer. Several photographers that The Mail contacted and quoted claimed that the photo appeared to have been altered, albeit their expert judgments on the usage of Photoshop differed.
Amidst the chaos on the photograph of Missan Harriman, in response to a Daily Mail article alleging that he altered the shot, the professional photographer shared a genuine photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Instagram on Wednesday. The picture was taken during a remote photo session in 2021 while Meghan was expecting their baby, Lillibet, who is now two years old.
Misan Harriman demands an apology from the Daily Mail
Harriman first shared the color version of the photo along with the metadata confirming that he photographed the close-up using an Apple iPad. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed their pregnancy on Valentine’s Day in 2021 with a black-and-white portrait that their friend and longtime photographer Harriman took from a distance. A beaming Prince Harry, who was not wearing shoes, gave Meghan a tender glance as she lay in his lap, holding her baby bump.
“The original Jpeg without the black and white grade, I expect a full apology and retraction from @dailymail @telegraph,” Harriman wrote as the post’s description on Wednesday. Harriman’s statement came after he uploaded a video earlier on Wednesday to refute the Daily Mail article that claimed the couple’s intimate 2021 black-and-white photo, which was used to announce her second child, was doctored. Harriman asserted that to fit the news cycle, the Mail misrepresented what he told Michael Berkely on the BBC’s Private Passions program in 2022. Regarding the Mother’s Day photo circulated over the weekend, Kate Middleton apologized on Monday after several international photo agencies removed the image due to possible alteration.
“Unfortunately, there’s been an article in the Daily Mail saying that I have admitted to doctoring the pregnancy announcement portrait I took of Harry and Meghan,” Harriman said at the beginning of a social media speech. “Apparently, I was switching out trees and meadows; this is crazy.” Harriman penned, “This is the image straight out of the camera; no trees or meadows were moved or swapped.” Next was the color photo on the post. “Also, that is a Jacaranda Tree, not a willow tree.” Playing back the clip from Private Passions, the director and photographer whose live-action short film The After received an Academy Award nomination in the Live Action Short Film category at the 2024 Oscars explained that they were discussing popular technology that photographers used for virtual shoots during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“The photo I took of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announcing their pregnancy is one of my most well-known virtual shooters. It’s a pretty happy picture. With the use of technology, I can take control of an iPad or phone and speak to them while still being able to push the shutter and compose easily. What you can achieve with technology is amazing,” Harriman remarked on the program.
“They weren’t actually under a willow tree. Were they lying out solely in a meadow? Weren’t they Harry and Meghan when you took the photograph of them?” Berkely questioned. “After going through such a loss with the miscarriage, they were lost at home in their love, in their garden, comfortable, celebrating new joy, new life, and the fortitude of hoping for light in life.” Harriman retorted, alluding to the Duchess of Sussex’s 2020 pregnancy loss, saying, “It really was a particularly joyous image to celebrate life itself.”
Harriman is grateful for Meghan Markle’s friendship
Harriman addressed the camera once more and criticized the Daily Mail article for misrepresenting his remarks. “That conversation might amount to me confessing to manipulating an image, which is a sneaky and dangerous kind of journalism. Any reference to meadows and willow trees originated with the interviewer, not with me,” he stated. “I tried my best to ignore it and concentrate on the topic I wanted to discuss.”
“I find it astounding that an article claims I did something I did not do. And then, attempting to incorporate it into the current news cycle of events is heartbreaking to witness,” he went on, ostensibly alluding to the Mothering Sunday photo controversy while omitting any mention of the Princess of Wales. “I used an iPad with 8 megapixels for a virtual photo session. A color grading in black and white was the only modification made. That’s all,” said Harriman.
The renowned photographer has documented many of Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, ’s significant life events over the years, including the announcement of Meghan’s pregnancy, Princess Lilibet’s first birthday picture in 2022, their attendance at the One Young World Summit, and the photo of Meghan revealing her new podcast partnership with Lemonada Media. Harriman recently told PEOPLE, “I’ve been very lucky to photograph many special moments with her and her husband and her family,” and that the supportive friendship is reciprocal.
Meghan organized a special screening at a private residence in Montecito, California, where the Duchess of Sussex resides with Prince Harry and their two-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, and four-year-old son, Prince Archie. She moderated a talkback with Harriman and The After star David Oyelowo in November 2023. “She is honestly as a sister to me,” the Nigeria-born filmmaker-photographer told PEOPLE when asked what the Duchess of Sussex’s support meant and observed that “my images of them do all the talking.”
“Portraiture for me, whether it is royalty or whether I’m in the tip of the spear in any of the civil rights movements that I care deeply about, is looking for truth,” stated Harriman, who starred in the Netflix documentary about Harry and Meghan. “That’s fundamentally what my lens is there, to capture the human condition in full fidelity.”
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