Topics: Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Christmas, Royal Family
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have shared their 2024 Christmas card with the public, prompting a number of responses.
The card, which features six photos, reads: "We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful new year."
It included photos of the royal couple at work, as well as a photo of them playing with their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
As is the case with a lot of Harry and Meghan's actions, it seems to have attracted a lot of judgement.
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The duo stepped away from royal duties in 2020, and relocated to Los Angeles from the United Kingdom, but this hasn't done much to stop critical press and attitudes.
Royal expert Grant Harrold told Tyla on behalf of Slingo: "Since I’ve been working with the Royal family, it’s always been quite simple with one photograph.
"Harry and Meghan’s card this year is very different. It’s more of a montage.
"[This] isn’t the correct thing to do. It’s not very Royal."
He continued: "The impression I’m getting is that they want to show all the things they have achieved and done together this year.
"It’s quite unusual. It’s a nice idea - but it’s more of a promotion of themselves as a couple."
Though it's not just the composition of the card itself that has caused a stir.
Following a whirlwind of headlines earlier this year accusing The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, of photoshopping family photos, it seems Meghan and Harry are being accused of the same thing.
One of the photos on the Sussexes card shows Archie and Lilibet, in the first public photo of them in three years, as they run towards their parents who waited with outstretched arms to hug them.
Archie and Lilibet appear to be the same height in the photo, which has been considered unlikely by a number of spectators due to their age difference.
Many took their concerns to social media.
One person wrote: "The only one in focus is Meghan. Fake photo."
Another said: "Archie doesn't seem to have grown in over a year, and the daughter seems to be his height now."
Despite the naysayers, one expert told the Mail Online that the photo appeared 'genuine'.
Their article continued: "A leading Fleet Street photographer said while it is 'very staged' to make them look like 'the perfect family', he does not believe it is created using AI."
