Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s photographer shut down allegations that he doctored the Duchess of Sussex’s pregnancy announcement amid Kate Middleton’s Photoshop scandal.
“Unfortunately, there’s been an article on the Daily Mail saying that I have admitted to doctoring the pregnancy announcement portrait I took of Harry and Meghan,” Misan Harriman explained in a video shared via Instagram on Wednesday, referring to the image of the couple from 2020 when Markle revealed her pregnancy with their second child, Princess Lilibet.
“Apparently I was switching out trees and meadows and I admitted to this in an episode of a podcast called ‘Private Passions.'”
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Harriman called the allegation “crazy,” noting that the interviewer, Michael Berkeley, had asked him a very “leading question” when they were discussing how he was able to virtually shoot the Sussexes using special technology on an iPad during the coronavirus lockdown.
“I get that a lot in regards to Harry and Meghan and I tend to swerve, ignore, try and get back on track, and say what I’m there to say rather than any sort of intrigue and gossip and that’s exactly what happened,” Harriman said in regard to how he handles “leading” questions from interviewers.
The photographer then played a clip from the 2022 interview in which Berkeley asked Harriman, “They weren’t actually under a willow tree. They were lying outside in a meadow, weren’t they, Harry and Meghan, when you took a photograph of them?”
Harriman clearly replied “no” before explaining, “They were lost in their love at home in their garden, comfortable, celebrating new joy, new life, the fortitude of hoping for life in life after such loss that they went through with the miscarriage. So it really was a particularly joyous image to celebrate life itself.”
Harriman slammed the Daily Mail for mincing his words to report that he had edited trees into the photo.
“So, that exchange could amount to me admitting to doctoring an image is insidious and really dangerous journalism,” Harriman said. “Any mention of meadows and willow trees came out of the person doing the interview. Not my mouth.”
Harriman said he did his best to ignore the question and focus on what he wanted to talk about.
“So to see an article, saying, as fact, that I did what I did not do, is extraordinary to me. And then to try to merge it with this current news cycle, what’s happening, it’s just tragic to see,” he said of Middleton’s Photoshop debacle.
He confirmed that the only changes made to the photo was “the black-and-white color grade.”
“That’s it,” he said. “And the Daily Mail, and the journalist that wrote this, has to be better than this. It’s dangerous and unacceptable behavior.”
The Daily Mail’s article wrongfully accusing Harrison of admitting to editing the couple’s pregnancy announcement portrait comes after the Princess of Wales was called out for editing her UK Mother’s Day photo with her children over the weekend.
Middleton, who has kept a low profile since undergoing abdominal surgery in January, shared what was believed to be a new photo with Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5.
However, inconsistencies in the photo lead to an onslaught of conspiracy theories about Middleton’s health and whereabouts.
Several photo agencies, including AP and Reuters, confirmed that the photo had been edited and issued a “kill notice” on the snap.
Middleton subsequently issued an apology and confirmed the photo had been doctored.
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“Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing. I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused,” she wrote on X from the official Prince and Princess of Wales account. “I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”
The altered photo spurred more concerns over Middleton’s mysterious whereabouts, considering she hasn’t been seen in public since December 2023, with the exception of two blurry sightings this month where she was spotted riding in a car near Windsor.
Middleton’s spokesperson assured Page Six that she was “doing well” and was always expected to make her return to her public duties after Easter. A Kensington Palace source added, “The Wales family spent Mother’s Day together and had a wonderful day.”
Amid the controversy, sources close to Markle and Harry slammed Middleton’s flub.
“This isn’t a mistake Meghan would ever make,” sources close to the Sussexes told Page Six this week, adding that the couple would “have been annihilated” had they released doctored photos.
The sentiment holds true considering Harriman denied any editing occurred for Harry and the “Suits” alum, who are also parents to 4-year-old Prince Archie.
