Holiday Card Sparks Immediate Backlash
The festive photo was shared on December 19 via the Duchess of Sussex’s Instagram account, continuing the couple’s annual Christmas card tradition. Almost instantly, it drew criticism, with social media users accusing the couple of another photoshop blunder and questioning Meghan’s outfit choice.
“This is not just a fake. It’s a really bad fake,” one angry commenter wrote.
A Familiar Sussex Tradition
Since their 2018 wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have released a Christmas card every year without exception. This year’s image showed Harry and Meghan standing on a charming wooden bridge surrounded by lush greenery, with a narrow stream flowing underneath.
They were joined by their two children, all dressed in coordinated white outfits, except for Princess Lilibet, who wore a pale blue, knee-length dress. In the photo, Prince Harry wrapped his arms around Prince Archie, while Meghan held Lilibet’s hands, gently touching foreheads with her daughter in a tender moment.
Meghan captioned the post simply: “Happy Holidays! From our family to yours.”
Photoshop Accusations Take Over Social Media
Shortly after the image went live, users began questioning its authenticity. Several pointed to what they described as a distortion near Prince Harry’s head, claiming part of his hair appeared to be missing.
“What happened with the editing? The back of Harry’s head is missing above the hairline,” one person wrote.
Another added, “Right away you can see all the Photoshop mistakes… I may be wrong, but this photo doesn’t look right to me.”
Others focused on what they called oddly long feet belonging to both Prince Harry and four-year-old Lilibet. Some argued that Lilibet’s proportions looked off, especially since she appeared to have longer feet than her older brother, six-year-old Archie.
Summarizing the speculation on Reddit, one critic claimed, “Archie’s also much smaller than Lilibet despite being literally inches away. Meghan’s forehead has a weird curvature that isn’t in any of her other pics and Lili is not dressed to match anybody in the photo.”
The same commenter went further, alleging, “harry and archie are not in the pic, they are photoshopped in. Meghan possibly photoshopped herself with lili.”
Meghan’s Outfit Draws Criticism
Beyond editing concerns, Meghan’s ivory dress also became a talking point. Some critics took issue with the slightly sheer fabric, which revealed the outline of her back and legs, calling it inappropriate for a Christmas card.
“Awful dress. Not only was the picture taken with her see-through dress, she [also] chose this picture as her Christmas card,” one person commented.
Not the First Time the Couple Has Faced Such Claims
Although Harry and Meghan have not responded to the latest accusations, this is far from the first time they have been accused of heavy editing.
Earlier this year, Meghan marked the seventh anniversary of their 2018 wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle with an Instagram post that also drew photoshop allegations.
“The harder they try to make themselves appear natural, the more they fail,” one critic wrote at the time.
In one image from that post, the couple appeared nose-to-nose. Viewers suggested the moment was not authentic, claiming it had been digitally created using images from their 2018 tour of New Zealand, where they performed the hongi, a traditional Māori greeting involving touching noses and foreheads.
Past Christmas Card Controversies
Last year’s Christmas card also fueled similar speculation. The 2024 card featured a collage of six images, including one of the entire family in a park. Online observers claimed to notice inconsistencies, such as Prince Harry appearing to have six fingers, dogs that looked “digitally positioned,” and Princess Lilibet appearing roughly the “same height as her brother.”
One commenter wrote, “Look at this dodgy digitally altered photo Harry and Meghan have released for Christmas! The shadows are all wrong, you can see the digitally altered outline around Meghan and the dogs have been superimposed.”
“Also, are we supposed to believe Lilibet is around six or seven years old or what?!”
Over the years, repeated accusations of photo manipulation have followed the Sussexes, at times even prompting comparisons to Princess Kate Middleton’s own highly publicized editing controversy.
