Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been photographed while out in their local neighborhood three times in two weeks—in a growing sign America has not afforded them greater privacy than Britain.
The latest images, published by the Daily Mail, show Meghan shopping at her local farmers’ market, in Montecito, on Friday, July 15.
Pictures and video footage were published online and the photos were credited to Jill Ishkanian, a photographer who previously ran now defunct gossip site Celebrity Babylon and who was once a staffer at Us Weekly.
The new images come after the New York Post published unpixilated photos of Princess Lilibet, two, in Prince Harry’s arms at a Fourth of July event. Newsweek understands those photos were taken without consent and that requests to blur Lili’s face fell on deaf ears.
James Devaney/GC Images
That in turn came two days after the Daily Mail printed pictures of Harry and Meghan at an office in Santa Barbara, taken by Karl Larsen, a photographer friend of her estranged father Thomas Markle.
The couple have been subject to frenzied attention at various points in their lives but recent paparazzi activity is unique because of the number of published images at a time when they have not particularly dominated the news cycle, save the disappointment of not getting nominated for an Emmy.
Paparazzi photographers are distinct from press photographers in that they are generally freelance or work for celebrity-focussed agencies that seek out unsolicited images of famous people going about their day-to-day lives.
News photographers may sometimes behave like paparazzi photographers, camping out in front a person’s house looking for an image when they are at the center of a major news story.
However, when the headlines move on, news photographers will generally move on too and that is a major difference that separates them from “paps.”
The prince was photographed prolifically in his younger years when he would party with friends at London night clubs but garnered less attention once he met Meghan and his social life calmed down.
Meghan was also the subject of frenzied attention when she was first revealed as Harry’s girlfriend at the end of October 2016 and was living by herself in Canada.
However, those pictures were tied to an avalanche of news stories being written about her at the time, with many taken by photographers on the payroll at specific newspapers rather than by the freelance or independent paparazzi who roam restaurants, bars and residential streets in search of celebrities.
When they were working royals, U.K. newspapers had a steady stream of images of the couple performing their duties, showing up for charities or as representatives of Queen Elizabeth II. Those pictures were generally by accredited photographers, invited to events by palace press officers.
There were far fewer pictures of them out on the street or at restaurants, though there were some examples of this kind of unsolicited image.
For example, the Daily Mail ran pictures of Harry outside a studio of fashion house Ralph and Russo in May 2018, suggesting he was making arrangements for Meghan’s wedding dress—though a palace source at the time said he was actually visiting his local gym in the same block.
Meghan was also pictured at a spa, in Soho, London, in May 2017, six months before her engagement to Prince Harry.
Their time as working royals did not see the same volume of paparazzi images of the couple, however.
When they first moved to America, photographers camped outside Tyler Perry’s Los Angeles mansion—where the couple initially stayed—leaving them feeling under siege.
Harry told their Netflix show Harry & Meghan how a fence was put up at the house to stop the long lenses from getting their pictures.
At one stage, paparazzi agency X17 photographed their son Prince Archie playing with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland in the private grounds using a drone, with the images published in German tabloid magazine Bunte.
However, actual published images of Harry and Meghan during this era were relatively rare, perhaps in part because COVID-19 meant people were in general going out less.
Recent paparazzi activity has reflected a combination of sustained interest absent of major breaking news coupled with opportunity.
There appears to be a market for images of the couple in their local community in California that is bearing fruit for multiple different photographers.
This may be less upsetting for Harry and Meghan than some of their more extreme experiences but it does reflect a growing trend that may be unwelcome in their lives.
Needless to say, there have been semi-regular paparazzi pictures of the Sussexes during their U.S. era, but three times in two weeks marks a sharp up tick in instances.
And it comes after they complained of a “near catastrophic” car chase in May after their attendance at the Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision awards.
The couple will also not welcome that it is the Daily Mail that published the latest batch of pictures, having sued the tabloid four times between them.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek’s The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.
