The pictures are to mark the fact the couple has been included in TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people list.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry live life on their terms now. Since stepping down from the royal family in March 2020 and relocating to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have ensured they are tight on privacy, which means the insights into their day-to-day come less frequently.
But for a special occasion - being listed as two of TIME Magazine’s 100 most influential people - the couple has invited a photographer into what looks to be their Montecito home for a shoot. The pictures, which display the Sussexes looking striking in some pretty statement power poses, feature on one of the numerous covers of the latest TIME issue.
Taken by award-winning, New York-based photographer Pari Dukovic, the images mark the first time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have starred on a magazine cover together. The photos are varied, ranging from the couple walking casually hand-in-hand outside in the garden, to some more bold, serious 'game face' shots in suits.
It's also the first time Meghan Markle has been seen in publicly-shared photographs since giving birth to the couple's baby daughter, Lilibet Diana, in June this year.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex acknowledged the fact they've been hailed "icons" in the illustrious list on their Archewell website. Sharing that they were "humbled" to be included, the Sussexes then swerved the focus onto someone else who's been featured on the list: Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
"Since becoming the Director-General of the World Trade Organization in March, Okonjo-Iweala has astutely been hailed for the groundbreaking nature of her appointment to the role; the first woman and the first African to assume the position," they wrote.
"What further sets her apart, and makes her leadership all the more trailblazing, is her ability to see the COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis with significant implications for both health and economic security. To tackle it, she has encouraged governments, trade organizations, and individuals to think of vaccine distribution and equity as inextricable from economic recovery," the tribute continued.
The statement signed off with the royal couple saying they are "honoured" and "proud" not only to be in Ngozi's company on the TIME 100 list, but also to be working towards a common goal together.
Congratulations to all for making it onto the list!
