Richard Eden at the Daily Mail had a hot tip about an American woman hiring a photographer, you guys. Did you know that the Duchess of Sussex hired a photographer to take some family photos? The audacity! Why would Meghan do that when she could just cobble together her own frankenphotos and release them publicly as proof of life?!?! Eden seems particularly incensed that someone would care about her privacy and yet bring in a photographer to privately photograph her children and refuse to release the photos?? These people are so utterly desperate to change the subject back to the Sussexes.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were so protective of their children’s ‘privacy’ that they refused even to name the godparents of their son, Prince Archie. So it’s fascinating to discover that Archie and his sister, Princess Lilibet, have been the subject of a very glamorous shoot by one of Meghan’s favourite photographers.

I hear that New York-based Jake Rosenberg flew to California earlier this month where he took a series of pictures of Meghan on her own, cooking, and her with the children. The photo-shoot, at Prince Harry and Meghan’s mansion in Montecito, coincided with the launch of Meghan’s lifestyle and cookery brand, American Riviera Orchard.

The venture was unveiled last week, in a glitzy Instagram video, in which Meghan could be seen busying herself in a rustic-looking kitchen. The video was posted a day after I contacted Meghan’s office for comment on her plans. American Riviera Orchard will focus on home, garden, food and lifestyle wares.

Rosenberg, who is originally from Toronto in Canada, where Meghan spent six years while filming the television legal drama Suits, has photographed the Duchess many times. On his website, he says ‘his lens has captured the radiance of talent such as Meghan Markle, Oprah Winfrey, Priyanka Chopra, Cindy Crawford, David Beckham, and Michael B. Jordan, unveiling their authentic personas through his vibrant imagery’.

There have been very few photographs of Archie, who turns five in May, and Lily, two, issued by their parents. They did. however, feature in Netflix’s tawdry documentary series about the couple. A friend of Meghan confirms that the photo-shoot took place but insists they were ‘portraits for the family’. The pal tells me: ‘I would not connect those to the business.’

Rosenberg could not be reached for comment.

[From The Daily Mail]

“Netflix’s tawdry documentary series” – it was actually amazing to see how many cute family photos were used in the series, and it just goes to show you that the Sussexes wanted to show off their photogenic children for a while but they simply wanted to do it on their terms, in a careful and thoughtful way. I get what Eden is trying to do though – he’s trying to say HOW DARE Meghan have her children photographed, presumably to aid in the launch of American Riviera Orchard. Like, these people have no chill – all we’ve gotten is a grainy little IG clip. Be patient.

Photos courtesy of Misan Harriman for Archewell and Netflix.