Meghan Markle has been encouraged to show the faces of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with an expert stating that this could help them gain more privacy in the long run. The comment comes after it emerged that two international paparazzi were spotted outside Archie and Lilibet's new school.
The two men were likely trying to photograph Archie and Lilibet, who had only just started at the school after being withdrawn from their first school since their move to the UK in August. Speaking after the incident, which Meghan and Harry have since referred to as “extraordinarily reckless”, former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond has said that the couple could take a leaf out of the Prince and Princess of Wales' book and reveal the children's faces so that an incident like this is less likely to happen again.
Expert says obscured faces raise curiosity
Meghan, although she has shared pictures of her children on her Instagram account, typically has them face away from the camera or covers their faces with an emoji, with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex known to want to shield them from the spotlight.
Ms Bond told The Mirror: “Quite understandably it would have alarmed not only Harry and Meghan, but other parents at the school. We send our children to school to be educated in a safe place. We do not expect them to be spied on by foreign photographers.
She then said she believes the couple's adamant refusal to show their children's faces may be a driving factor behind the paparazzi intrusion.
Comparison with William and Catherine
She explained: “But I think part of the problem is that Meghan and Harry have inadvertently put a price on the value of the first clear photo of their children. Meghan has teased us all with multiple pictures of Archie and Lilibet in which their faces are deliberately obscured. And that has spawned more curiosity about them — and upped the reward for any pap who can get a face-on shot.”
Ms Bond added: “Better by far is the strategy adopted by William and Catherine, who have regularly released charming portraits of their children on special occasions. We have been able to watch them grow from afar; press and public interest in them has been satisfied. And the value of any snatched photos has been negated. Perhaps the Sussexes should now follow that example.”
Children's faces last seen in Netflix series
Meghan and Harry have never shared any details about their children's school, with the family of four having returned to the UK in late August. Both Archie and Lilibet were featured in the couple's 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which was the last time their faces were shown to the public.
At that time, Lilibet, who was born in the US, was just a year old, whilst Archie was just three. Archie's face was made public on several occasions after he was born in Britain in 2019.
