Prince Harry and Meghan under fire for holiday card ‘staging’
A holiday card posted early this week by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has sparked numerous discussions. There were even suspicions about the authenticity of their family photograph, with some internet users speculating that the couple hired actors to replace Archie and Lilibet...
An informal holiday tradition maintained for many years by members of the British royal family is sending wishes to their compatriots in the form of an elegantly designed card. Each year, these cards feature new photographs of the royals in unique settings. Last year, there was a lot of buzz about a graphic designer's oversight while editing photos, who was accused of removing the middle finger of Kate and William's youngest son’s left hand.
Prince Harry, despite distancing himself from his roots, still practices some well-known customs. One of them is publishing a holiday card. This year, together with Meghan Markle, they did not pass up this opportunity either. Thanks to this, they managed to momentarily shift attention from their alleged marital crisis, while keen observers of the red-haired aristocrat and his wife focused on new shots of their rarely seen children.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle accused of hiding their children's identities
The Sussexes sent wishes for a joyful holiday season and prosperity in the coming year, embellishing them with a collage of photos mostly showcasing their achievements for their jointly run Archewell Foundation. Internet users were most intrigued by the top-center frame, which shows their five-year-old son Archie and three-year-old daughter Lilibet running towards their parents, who are waiting with outstretched arms. The family photo is further sweetened by the presence of three pet dogs.
Meanwhile, a certain suspicious group of users on platform X began spreading unfounded speculations that the photo had undergone multiple edits. They pointed, among other things, to Meghan's elongated left arm and the unnatural angle of her feet relative to her torso.
They also noted, for example, the cropped rear paw of a black dog and the exactly identical height of the children despite the two-year age difference between them, even insinuating that actors were hired to replace them. Some opinions suggest that the photos were published in low resolution for a reason. As they claim, this was a deliberate act to conceal any edits.
The editorial staff of the Daily Mail asked professional photographers for a comment. They unanimously stated that the shot appears staged to give the impression of a "perfect family", but there is no talk of any graphic intervention or use of artificial intelligence.
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