Royal Family Suspected of Cutting Meghan Markle Out of Photo with Prince Harry
There is a new scandal in the British royal family: this time, the monarchs are suspected of cutting out Meghan Markle from a photo published in honor of Prince Harry's 40th birthday, Page Six reports.
The photo was published on September 15 — Prince Harry’s birthday — and was taken in the summer of 2018, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited the Dogpatch Labs co-working space in Dublin. During the event, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sat at a table surrounded by other people, but Prince Harry was the only one present for the official congratulations from King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This has drawn criticism from fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, 43, who found it offensive and dismissive. The royal family has been accused of deliberately cropping the shot to avoid Meghan Markle being near Prince Harry.
Buckingham Palace representatives had to make a statement because of the scandal that had started. According to them, the photo had not been altered in any way, and had been received as is from a photo agency. According to officials, Prince Harry was photographed from different angles and with different people that day. Therefore, the claims that Meghan Markle is unfounded, because many photos of Prince Harry were taken that day.
These arguments seemed unconvincing to fans of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, since the frame shows that the angle is the same, and the facial expressions and position of the hands match the photo where Meghan Markle is.
It's worth noting that this was the first time in three years that the royal family had wished Prince Harry a happy birthday. In 2022, King Charles approved a protocol that social media posts should only concern working members of the royal family, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry stepped down from their royal duties back in 2020. They have since left the UK and moved to the US.