Misan Harriman, Harry and Meghan’s pregnancy photographer, rose to fame by capturing the Black Lives Matter protests

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Freed from the formalities that accompany a traditional royal baby announcement, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, turned to a friend on Sunday to reveal their news.

The result was a discreet, black-and-white portrait of the couple staring at each other under a winter sun, Meghan’s hand resting lightly on a bulge that had been hidden from the public until now.

But for the photographer who captured the photo, the announcement of the second child of the Sussexes was only the most recent stage of his historical career.

Misan Harriman, a friend of the couple, said he filmed the image from a distance on an iPad. Harriman is based in London, while the Sussex live in California after breaking up with the British royal family last year.

Harriman's image was released Sunday.

Harriman’s image was released Sunday. Credit: Twitter / @ misanharriman

“Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story and my friend, I am honored to catch her growing up,” he wrote on social media after the photo was released. “Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this good news!”

Last year, Harriman became the first black photographer to cover the important September issue of British Vogue.

Footballer Marcus Rashford, model Adwoa Aboah and a number of other prominent activists appeared in this spread and it was entitled “Activism now: the faces of hope”.

It was a fitting mission for Harriman, who only became a professional photographer in 2016, after a career in finance, and whose images of the Black Lives Matter protests shot him in 2020.

“Through my lens, I saw the beating heart of London,” Harriman told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour in August after a series of photos he took during protests in the city went viral.

One, which featured England hockey player Darcy Bourne in front of the US Embassy, ​​holding a poster reading “Why is the end of racism a debate?”, Came to symbolize the city’s demonstrations during the summer.

Misan Harriman: “My pictures are about hope”

“It looks like the winds of change have finally blown in the direction I’ve been waiting for,” Harriman told CNN.

Both Harry and Meghan spoke in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and Harry reflected on his own unconscious bias and the historical acts of the British Empire in subjugating black populations around the world.
“I had an awakening as such, because I was not aware of so many problems and so many problems in the UK, but also globally,” he said in October. “I thought so, but no.”

The couple’s shooting was not the first time Harriman was called to present a royal announcement to the world.

In 2019, he captured Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, again in black and white, to accompany the announcement of their engagement.
“You can’t be nervous when the subjects are so comfortable,” Harriman told Vogue about the experience. “I call my goal the seeker of truth and that’s exactly what was captured, two people who found their safe haven in each other.”
And his photo with Harry and Meghan also reminded – intentionally or not – of an official picture from their 2018 wedding, filmed by Alexi Lubomirski. This image also shows the couple lying in a hug a few moments after they got married.

No due date was given in the couple’s announcement, but Harriman’s image showed a prominent swelling.

“We can confirm that Archie will be an older brother,” a spokesman for the couple said on Sunday. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are happy to have their second child.”

The announcement came almost exactly at the age of 37 after Prince Charles and Princess Diana announced that they were expecting their second child – who happened to be Prince Harry.

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