Prince Harry, Meghan Markle suffer major setback in UK

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been dealt with major blow in the UK ahead of the Duke's much-anticipated visit to the country of his birth.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be upset after being humiliated in Britain as London gallery has refused to put up the couple's picture.

In a surprising move, a spokesperson for the National Portrait Gallery in central London has admitted it won't put up a picture of the Harry and Meghan that it acquired earlier this year.

The image in question is a black and white portrait captured which shows the couple standing side-by-side at the opening of the One Young World summit in Manchester two years ago, and it was taken by Misan Harriman, known as Harry Meghan's friend.

The spokesperson said: "The portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex was acquired for the Gallery's photographs collection in May 2024. Following cataloguing and its digitisation, the portrait was added to our website at the beginning of this month." 

The latest move is being considered as a major blow to the Duke, as the spokesperson said: "There are no current plans to display the portrait in the gallery."

It is to mention here that The National Portrait Gallery holds one of the world's best collections of portraits, and its patron, Princess Kate, has no say over which are added to the collection.

The admission of Harry and Meghan's portrait comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed that the Royal Collection has no photographs of Meghan in its archives of more than a million objects spanning five centuries of the monarchy.

Images of the members of the royal family do not automatically become part of the royal collection. They are in fact often donated by the photographer or are specially commissioned.

In January 2012, St James's Palace announced Kate Middleton's patronage of five charities, one of which included the National Portrait Gallery.