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Secrets of a royal photographer


They’re one of the most talked-about families in the world, but for photographer Chris Jackson, spending time with the royals is just another part of his day job.

The Getty Images photographer, who has just released a 225-page coffee table book, called Modern Monarchy, has had a front-row seat to some of the most iconic moments in history, being the royal family’s go-to snapper for the past 15 years.

Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Chris revealed exactly what it’s like to be the man behind the lens capturing images for the royal family, and his favourite moments of 2018.

Royal photographer, Chris Jackson, was there to capture Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first moments as husband and wife. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson
Royal photographer, Chris Jackson, was there to capture Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first moments as husband and wife. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson

Pole position for the royal wedding

On May 19th, the world stood still with excitement, as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tied the knot in a lavish ceremony at Windsor Castle.

And for veteran royal photographer, Chris, the buzz the day created made it his ‘standout event of the year’.

“One of the best things about the wedding was the fact that I was seeing lots of the guests arrive and I got to speak to a lot of people in the grounds,” Chris said.

“The lovely thing was they had over 2000 charity representatives in the horseshoe cloister (the front of the door to St George’s Chapel) and it was just such a nice touch.

That included Mutsu Potsane, the orphan Prince Harry met on his gap year in Lesotho in 2004.

Chris said it was an incredible idea to place people important to them in the cloister, as they ‘got to see them as they emerged from the chapel for the first time’.

The royal photographer had a front row seat to many of Meghan Markle’s first official outings. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson
The royal photographer had a front row seat to many of Meghan Markle’s first official outings. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson

Meghan Markle becomes the Duchess of Sussex

After the wedding, it wasn’t long before Meghan Markle, the newly-crowned Duchess of Sussex, was out-and-about, meeting the public and making her first offical royal visits.

Chris, who was there for the majority of the Duchess’ early outings, claims the 37-year-old took to it like a duck to water.

He said it was evident from the first time Prince Harry stepped out hand-in-hand with Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in 2017, that big things were about to happen.

“Nowhere was more poignant, because it means so much to Prince Harry, this competition that he started in London. To introduce Meghan in Toronto in 2017 was very special,” Chris said.

“Having photographed Harry for so many years, it was just lovely. He’s such a great person to photograph and there was a whole new dynamic which was fantastic.

“You know, these two people interacting with each other in a very relaxed manner. That was so exciting.”

He went on to say it’s been ‘exciting’ watching their relationship develop and seeing how Meghan manages on public engagements.

“She’s doing fantastic,” he said.

“She’s really taken the time to chat to everybody and they very much work as a team.

“The story just gets better and better and that what’s so fantastic about the royal family is that there’s always something happening.”

Before we all got caught up in royal wedding fever, there was another momentous occasion in the royal family in 2018, when the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her and Prince William’s third child, Prince Louis. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson
Before we all got caught up in royal wedding fever, there was another momentous occasion in the royal family in 2018, when the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her and Prince William’s third child, Prince Louis. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson

The birth of Prince Louis

Before we all got caught up in royal wedding fever, there was another momentous occasion in the royal family in 2018, when the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to her and Prince William’s third child, Prince Louis.

On April 23rd, the world’s media gathered at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London to wait for the first glimpse of the bub.

However, for Chris Jackson, one of his favourite moments from the whole day was when Prince William brought the younger children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, along to see their baby brother.

“When Princess Charlotte went to visit Prince Louis in hospital when he was born, you might remember the picture their father, the Duke of Cambridge, pacing them up the stairs and Princess Charlotte turns around and waves to everyone,” Chris said.

“That was such a lovely moment and you go away from those moments with a kind of smile because it’s great to document those things.”

Chris said he loves ‘feel-good’ moments such as a royal birth, when he feels like he’s ‘part of history’ and one of his favourite parts of the job is snapping the adorable royal kids. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson
Chris said he loves ‘feel-good’ moments such as a royal birth, when he feels like he’s ‘part of history’ and one of his favourite parts of the job is snapping the adorable royal kids. Photo: Getty Images/Chris Jackson

Photographing the royal kids

Chris said he loves ‘feel-good’ moments such as a royal birth, when he feels like he’s ‘part of history’ and one of his favourite parts of the job is snapping the adorable royal kids.

“When they come on tour it adds this whole dynamic to the trip which is just great,” he said.

“If you know the children are coming, it’s challenging from a photographic point of view because you have four people to capture and sometimes you don’t know whether to go wide lens or tight or how you document that moment in the best way and you can.

“Sometimes you miss things but essentially, because they are children everything’s a bit new to them.

“There’s a lovely picture of Princess Charlotte arriving into Germany when we went on that trip with the family and she’s taking a big sniff of this bouquet of flowers.

“It’s that wonderful naivety children have and it’s great. All these moments are unscripted and I love that.”

Prince Charles’ 70th birthday

Another spontaneous moment Chris perfectly caught on camera was the whole family bursting out laughing when he was capturing a portrait to commemorate Prince Charles’ 70th birthday.

The now iconic photos, which nearly broke the internet when they were released last month, show the Prince of Wales surrounded by his loving clan, including his wife Camilla, Prince Harry, Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and his grandchildren.

Chris said being invited into the grounds of Clarence House to snap the family was the number one highlight of the year.

“It was a great honour to do that family picture and fantastic to capture everyone in one place, that was really special,” Chris said.

“He (Prince Charles) is great to photograph, he’s got a great sense of humour. I know this because I’m always photographing him, I’ve done it for many years. So I hope that my images convey a very true image of the Prince of Wales.”

Chris Jackson was the man behind the lens when the Queen met Donald Trump in July 2018. Photo: Getty Images
Chris Jackson was the man behind the lens when the Queen met Donald Trump in July 2018. Photo: Getty Images

When the Queen met Donald Trump

Another moment that made Chris’ top events from 2018 list was when Queen Elizabeth met Donald Trump.

Who could forget the President of the United States breaking royal protocol when he walked in front of Her Majesty, something which is seen as incredible rude amongst royals staff.

However, for Chris, he was focused on getting a great shot of the handshake between the pair.

“It did generate headlines around the world and I think it’s important that I was there to document the handshake, to document what’s happening and record it. It’s history,” he said.

Chris chose a picture he shot of the back of their heads to signify the importance of the event.

“Everyone knows Donald Trump’s hair, it’s kind of iconic I suppose, a lot of people talk about it a lot. And of course the Queen from the back, she’s instantly recognisable,” he said.

“And so for me it was just a bit of an alternative view of these key people recognised around the world and you don’t need to see their faces because you instantly know who they are.”

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