The royal family is standing together and remain “united” amid Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s sensational docuseries.
Longtime royal photographer Arthur Edwards exclusively tells Page Six he believes Harry can say what he likes, but, “it’s not going to change anything” for the family.
Edwards, 82, who has been snapping photos of the royals since 1977, recently attended the “Royal Carols: Together for Christmas” concert at Westminster Abbey where the family, including King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, walk down the aisle together.
“Them walking united down the aisle together, both families just gave all the message to anybody they want to know: This family is united,” he says.
Edwards sounds rueful when talking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to step down as working senior royals.
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“I was taken in by Meghan. It must be honest. I thought she was a rock star,” he tells us. “I thought she was going to really take off because we covered that first 18 months, and it was a whirlwind … and she was sensational.”
The shutterbug also shares that Harry, 38, was beloved by the British public.
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“He was just just a really special type of guy,” he says. “You know, he was he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed at school. But I mean, he went on to achieve an awful lot, did two tours of duty in Afghanistan, which is pretty impressive. And I liked him a lot and I loved working with him.”
But Edwards reveals the chummy relationship Harry had with photographers, including taking them out for drinks at the end of royal trips, abruptly stopped when he married Markle, 41.
“And then Meghan came along and suddenly went, stopped,” he reveals. “She didn’t want to meet us. We asked three times. She didn’t want to know. And now I suspect that she had an agenda and that was always the plan.”
Edwards stresses that he “loved working” with Harry and will “miss him so much” but is clearly disappointed by “Harry & Meghan” and Harry’s upcoming memoir, “Spare,” set to be released next month.
“That will probably have some not-very-nice stories about the royal family in it,” he theorizes.
“But he can’t keep doing that. You can’t keep attacking the family. You know, there’s got to be something else … Why doesn’t he use that platform to promote his charities? He’s got some amazing charities that he sponsors. The Invictus Games and the Senetable Aid is helping kids in Africa find schools and (learning) to read and write.”
He also adds that Harry is a patron of the WellChild charity, which works with seriously ill children and their caregivers and has seen firsthand how the Duke interacts with “really sick children.”
“And so I can’t feel bad towards Harry,” he continues. “I look for the good in people, not the bad and he is basically a very good person.
But Edwards is disappointed that Harry decided to publicize his “family rows.”
“You keep it in the family,” he says. “That’s what he should have done. If you have an argument, you keep it in the family and you sort it out. (To) put it out on the world stage on his film, just for money, I think it’s wrong.”
Edwards’ new photo book, “Behind the Crown: My Life Photographing the Royal Family,” is filled with images spanning his near half-century work with the Windsors including photos of the Queen Mother and the infamous photo of a young Diana Spencer posing with children while her diaphanous skirt revealed her legs.
“Tons of pictures in there,” he tells us. “A lot of pictures in there I didn’t use because I couldn’t get them in … I’m really pleased with it.”