Photographer says Harry and Meghan’s photo was not altered, shares original portrait

The photo was censored by the British media for adding a willow tree in the background.

While Kate Middleton caused an uproar for sharing an edited Mother’s Day photo, another royal portrait has been criticized for allegedly being altered. A Valentine’s Day photo shared by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in 2021, announcing the couple’s second pregnancy, was scrutinized by the British media for adding a willow tree to the background.

However, the photographer who clicked the portrait slammed the suggestion that the portrait had been retouched and shared a color version of the photo, demanding an apology.

“There is no original Jpeg in black and white grade, I would like a full apology and retraction from @dailymail @telegraph. No trees or grass were moved or swapped, this is the image straight out of the camera. And that’s a jacaranda tree, not a willow,” artist Misan Harriman posted on Instagram, sharing details of the original photo.

The black-and-white photo shows the Sussexes under a tree, with pregnant Meghan resting her head on Harry’s lap and the couple all smiles.

“The Daily Mail said I admitted doctoring Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy announcement portrait. Apparently I was replacing trees and grass. I admitted this on a podcast called Private Passions. It’s crazy ,” he said.

The photographer said the podcast host asked him about clicking portraits in virtual mode during the lockdown and “several major questions” that he tried to “dodge”. The podcast host then asked Mr Harriman if the couple were under a willow tree, to which he replied they were lying on the grass outside.

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“This exchange means that I admit to doctoring the image, which is insidious,” he said, adding that the claim was “dangerous and unacceptable.”

“The only thing that changed was the black and white,” he said.

The British royal family has been at the center of controversy, with Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, admitting to editing a palace-released photo of herself and her three children, which was retracted by news organizations around the world.

The photo added fuel to the fire as social media was abuzz with speculation about the royal’s long absence from the public eye following her sudden announcement that she would undergo abdominal surgery. The princess has not been away from public life since Christmas.