PRINCE Harry and Meghan Markle hold hands in two official portraits taken while visiting Britain.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released the photos just two days after Buckingham Palace announced a new statue of the king alongside Camilla the queen consort and the prince and princess of Wales.
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The couple were shown holding hands at the One Young World Youth Leaders Summit in Manchester last month.
Meghan was depicted wearing a red blouse and matching trousers with a thick gold ring and earrings while Harry is dressed in a smart black suit and tie.
In the second photo, taken ‘just moments’ before the summit’s opening ceremony, the couple stands side by side, sideways in front of the camera, holding hands and looking at the audience.
The photos were taken by famed photographer Misan Harriman, 45, director of the Southbank Center and a friend of the couple who has previously taken photos of Lilibet on her first birthday and a maternity photo of the couple.
He posted them online last night, just two days after an official portrait of King Charles, the Queen Consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales.
The photos of Harry and Meghan overshadowed the images of the King and Queen Consort’s successful first public visit since the end of the royal mourning period.
There is no suggestion that the Sussexes deliberately timed the release of their images in an attempt to overshadow the king’s visit.
At the event where the two images were taken, Meghan gave a speech at the opening ceremony, addressing a 2,000-strong crowd with representatives from 190 countries.
She said it was ‘nice to be back in the UK’ and described the delegates as ‘the future, but also the present, driving the positive and necessary change needed around the world’.
Mr Harriman is one of the most shared photographers of the Black Lives Matter movement and was the first black man to shoot a cover of British Vogue in the magazine’s 106-year history.
Photographer Misan Harriman, 45, said: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex moments before attending @OneYoungWorld’s opening ceremony last month.”
The Duchess of Sussex told the crowd it was “Very nice to be back in the UK” when she spoke at the summit last month.
It was her first speech in Britain since leaving the royal family with her husband.
She told the audience, made up of young delegates from more than 190 countries, that they are “the future, but also the present, driving the positive and necessary change needed around the world.”
And the Duchess, who wore a £1,100 scarlet Valentino blouse and matching £1,200 wide-leg trousers, was gushing to be back on British soil.