The Queen has officially welcomed Meghan Markle into the royal family by placing a framed photo of newlyweds the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on display at Buckingham Palace. The previously unseen photo is visible on a table in the palace as Her Majesty welcomed the Honorable George Brandis, the Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, for a private audience on Wednesday morning.
With pride of place at the front of a table, the framed image shows Prince Harry and Meghan standing posing together. While Harry is dressed in a smart blue suit, his wife is wearing a pale fitted dress, with her hair down and straight. It is not clear when the image was taken, but it is likely to have been an official portrait taken by photographer Alexi Lubomirski as part of their engagement photoshoot in early December.
A previously unseen photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex is on display at Buckingham Palace
The couple enlisted Alexi to take their portraits in the grounds of Frogmore House, and while three official photos were released at the time, it is likely he took many more for the family's own personal use.
MORE: The secrets behind Prince Harry and Meghan's official wedding photos
Alexi was also chosen as the couple's official wedding photographer, and captured the stunning photos of the newlyweds and the royal family at Windsor Castle on 19 May. One picture showed Prince Harry and his bride Meghan in a romantic pose as they sat together on the steps of East Terrace at Windsor Castle. Opening up about the candid black-and-white image, Alexi revealed: "We went out there and had about three and a half minutes to take some quick shots because everything was running like clockwork."
The image could be seen when the Queen welcomed George Brandis to Buckingham Palace
The celebrity photographer - who also took the engagement photos last year - went on to describe how he managed it, telling the BBC: "It was just one of those magical moments when you're a photographer and everything falls into place. I said 'just before you go in, sit on those stairs'." He continued: "[Meghan] just slumped in between his legs, and there was this moment where they were just laughing because they were joking about how they were exhausted and finally it's all over. They just looked at each other and they were just laughing, and it was this just beautiful moment, and, when you are taking the pictures, you know you have something."