Royal family stays ‘united’ amid Harry and Meghan docuseries bombshells
The Royal Family stand together and stay “united” amid the sensational docuseries of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Longtime royal photographer Arthur Edwards exclusively tells Page Six that he thinks Harry can say what he wants, but “it won’t make a difference” for the family.
Edwards, 82, who has been taking pictures of the Royal Family since 1977, recently attended the ‘Royal Carols: Together for Christmas’ concert at Westminster Abbey where the family, including King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, the Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George and Princess Charlotte walk down the aisle together.
“By walking down the aisle together, the two families just gave the whole message to everyone they want to know: this family is united,” he says.
Edwards looks sad as he talks about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step down as senior royals.
They stood together at a Christmas concert earlier this month.
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They stood together at a Christmas concert earlier this month.
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“I was looked after by Meghan. He has to be honest. I thought she was a rock star,” he tells us. “I thought she was going to really take off because we covered those first 18 months , and it was a whirlwind…and she was sensational.”
The photographer also shares that Harry, 38, was loved by British audiences.
Edwards says Harry publicly bashing the Royal Family will “not change anything”.
Edwards says Harry publicly bashing the Royal Family will “not change anything”.
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Edwards says Harry publicly bashing the Royal Family will “not change anything”.
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“He was just a really special kind of guy,” he says. “You know, he wasn’t the sharpest tool in back to school. But I mean, he’s accomplished an awful lot, done two tours of duty in Afghanistan, which is pretty impressive. And I liked him very much and I loved working with him.
But Edwards reveals the friendly relationship Harry had with the photographers, including taking them out for drinks at the end of royal trips, abruptly cut short when he married Markle, 41.
“And then Meghan came in and suddenly left, stopped,” he reveals. “She didn’t want to meet us. We asked three times. She didn’t want to know. And now I suspect she had a plan and that was always the plan.
Edwards points out that he “loved working” with Harry and will “miss him so much”, but he is clearly disappointed with “Harry & Meghan” and Harry’s upcoming memoir, “Spare”, which will be released next month.
“It will probably contain some not very pleasant stories about the royal family,” he theorizes.
“But he can’t keep doing this. You can’t keep attacking the family. You know, there must be something else… Why isn’t he using this platform to promote his charities? He has some amazing charities that he sponsors. The Invictus Games and Senetable Aid help children in Africa find schools and (learn) to read and write.
He also adds that Harry is a patron of the charity WellChild, which works with seriously ill children and their carers and has seen firsthand how the Duke interacts with “really sick children”.
“And so I can’t feel bad about Harry,” he continues. “I look for the good in people, not the bad and he’s basically a very good person.
But Edwards is disappointed that Harry has decided to publicize his “family feuds”.
“You keep it in the family,” he says. “That’s what he should have done. If you have a fight, you keep it in the family and settle it. (To) put him on the world stage on his film, just for money, I think that’s wrong.
Edwards’ new photo book, ‘Behind the Crown: My Life Photographing the Royal Family’, is packed with images spanning his nearly half-century work with the Windsors, including photos of the Queen Mother and the infamous photo of a young Diana Spencer posing with children while her diaphanous skirt showed off her legs.
“Tons of photos in there,” he tells us. “A lot of photos in there that I didn’t use because I couldn’t fit them in…I’m really happy about that.”