Before Meghan Markle stepped back from her role as a working royal family member, she was frequently pictured at official events and engagements. Before then, her work as a Hollywood actor was filled with photo opps—albeit on a smaller scale.
She’d be dressed pristinely, her smile never once faltering—a poster-person for The Firm. But in between the flashing cameras and swarming fans, there were moments of silence where Duchess could take a deep breath and gather herself.
One of those moments was secretly captured on camera by a good friend of Meghan’s back in 2019—and to celebrate her 41st birthday last week, he decided to share it with the world.
Misan Harriman, who has photographed some of Meghan and husband Prince Harry’s most special moments post-royal exit (their second pregnancy announcement and daughter Lilibet’s first birthday, for starters), also snapped Meghan as she attended the One Young World Summit Opening Ceremony back in October 2019.
The royal, who had welcomed her first child, Archie Harrison five months prior, stepped out at London’s Royal Albert Hall in a flowing purple dress by Babaton. Like clockwork, Meghan was on form for the awaiting cameras as she waved and smiled.
In Harriman’s stunning portrait shared on Instagram, Meghan’s silhouette is seen just before she steps out onto the stage of the Royal Albert Hall to raucous applause.
“Wishing you the happiest of birthdays Meghan,” he wrote alongside the image.
Interestingly, the photo was taken about two months before Harry and Meghan travelled to Vancouver, Canada where they spent Christmas and New Years, with a brief roundtrip to London. When they returned to North America in January 2020, they announced they would be stepping back from their senior royal duties.
There’s no doubt that rare and raw images like Harriman’s—taken just before everything changed for the royals—are incredibly unique and special.
More recently, Harriman was tasked with snapping the first birthday of Harry and Meghan’s second child, Lilibet, while they visited their old house, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
In one snap, Lilibet is seen smiling up to someone behind the lens. In another, Meghan holds her daughter alongside friends who came to celebrate the day. Harriman really has shown us a whole other side to the Sussex family—here’s hoping there’s plenty more where that came from.
