Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, no stranger to media attention, are in “trouble” for taking photos in Buckingham Palace using a private photographer without permission from the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The allegations began when Netflix released the trailer for their docuseries, “Harry and Meghan,” presented on the streaming platform on December 8. The trailer shows intimate black and white photos not previously seen, some of which were taken during the couple’s wedding reception in 2018.
The pictures that are causing problems were taken inside Buckingham Palace and show the couple walking in the palace’s garden.
Royal protocol says that even members of the royal family need to ask permission to film inside the monarch’s home.
When the photographer took the photos, some palace aides did not like Harry and Meghan’s decision to bring a photographer into the palace without permission and they complained about it.
However, Prince Harry and Meghan were unaware of the warning, and no one asked the photographer to leave and stop taking photos.
The regulations are set by the Royal Collections Trust and photography or filming is forbidden, unless a memo asking permission is sent to the monarch, and granted.
The offending photos were taken in March 2020, before the couple returned to the US and had already decided to resign from their royal duties.
Photos for commercial purposes are specifically not allowed, and reportedly the couple did not ask the late Queen for permission to take a photo in her home and signed a deal with Netflix for $100 million. Netflix includes the photos in the docuseries.
The documentary, “Harry and Meghan,” is a six-part docuseries that follows the couple’s relationship from the beginning until they decided to quit their royal duties.
The documentary includes interviews with some family members and friends, who have never spoken about the couple publicly. It also includes journalists and historians discussing the media’s influence on Harry and Meghan’s relationship with the royal family.
The filming for their documentary has made headlines several times, and several news outlets reported that a Netflix crew had been banned from filming the couple during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
There is a lot of anticipation about what royal secrets the couple will spill when the documentary airs on December 8. It remains to be seen if the Palace takes action against Netflix after the bombshell revelations and photos are aired.