Only months after collecting a photograph of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a world-renowned London gallery has declined to display it.
In a big setback for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a spokeswoman for the National Portrait Gallery in central London has confirmed that it will not display a photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex purchased earlier this year.
The image in question is a black and white portrait of the pair standing side by side at the opening of the One Young World conference in Manchester two years ago, captured by the couple’s friend Misan Harriman.
The spokesperson said: “The portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was acquired for the Gallery’s photographs collection in May 2024.
“Following cataloguing and its digitisation, the portrait was added to our website at the beginning of this month. There are no current plans to display the portrait in the gallery.”
The National Portrait Gallery houses one of the world’s best portrait collections, and its patron, Princess Kate, has no influence in which works are added to it.
Mr Harriman, the photographer, is a worldwide recognized figure who became the first black man to shoot a cover for British Vogue in the magazine’s 104-year existence.
The admission of Harry and Meghan’s portrait follows The Mail on Sunday’s revelation that the Royal Collection has no photographs of Meghan in its archives of over a million things spanning five centuries of monarchy.
However, photos of the Royal Family are not automatically included to the Royal Collection. They are frequently donated by photographers or expressly commissioned.
In January 2012, St James’ Palace announced Princess Kate’s patronage of five charities, including the National Portrait Gallery.
Kate’s first solo public engagement was the opening of the Lucian Freud Portraits show, and she also worked with the Gallery on the ‘Victorian Giants: The Birth Of Art Photography’ exhibition in 2018.
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Last year, there were rumors that Princess Kate was secretly happy when a contentious image of her, drawn by artist Paul Emsley, was taken out of public view.
It was removed from public view and stored at the National Portrait Gallery, where it can be viewed “by prior appointment” only.
When the image was presented in 2012, The Princess of Wales’ initial reactions were “brilliant” and “absolutely amazing,” prompting a royal analyst to wonder why the work had been relegated to a storage cupboard.
According to Richard Eden, the diary editor for the Daily Mail, critics were less friendly and blasted the work of art, calling it “ɢʜᴀsᴛʟʏ” and “ʀᴏᴛᴛᴇɴ”.
A source informed the editor: “It’s unthinkable that the painting of Her Royal Highness would be removed from public view without consulting her. That would be very discourteous.”
