The Royal Family aren't the only ones posing for regal pictures and Royal expert Katie Nicholl spoke with ET about their significance.
Making a statement without any words at all. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released some regal portraits, just days after the official royal portraits were released, in which they were notably absent.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl recently spoke with ET's Rachel Smith about the couple's classy photos, and the significance they have amid the rift between Prince Harry and his family -- which she details in her new book, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown.
"It's all in the timing, isn't it? It does sort of have a sense of 'anything you can do we can do too,'" Nicholl shared. "It was quite polarizing, because you had, just two days before, that incredible image of the king and the Queen consort, and the new Prince and Princess of Wales."
"It said, 'This is the future of the monarchy.' Of course, so notable by their absence, was Harry and Meghan. So it didn't surprise me to see an image of them so soon after," Nicholl continued. "But it was a pretty bold move, as sort of a reminder that actually there is this alternative royal court across the pond."
The royals' official portrait features King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Prince William, and Kate Middleton, all clad in black at the reception held for Heads of States and official overseas guests who were in the country for Queen Elizabeth's funeral on Sept. 19.
The reception, held at Buckingham Palace, was the event Harry and Meghan were uninvited to during their time in England amid events surrounding the queen's death.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posed for a dramatic photo of themselves holding hands and looking regal ahead of the One Young World Summit in Manchester, England, which they attended just days before the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8.
In the photo shared on Monday, which was taken by one of the couple's favorite photographers, Misan Harriman, who has photographed them before, Meghan wears a bold red jumpsuit and stands in front of her husband. They both sport soft smiles and are holding one another's hands.
"This was a photograph that was taken several weeks back when they were over in Manchester," Nicholl explained, noting the timing of the post. "You would've thought, if that was just a picture they were going to release, they'd have released it then."
"This is clearly the Sussexes just making a point," she added. "We're visible we're bold and we're not going anywhere... we're doing 'royal' a different way."
Nicholl's revealing new book on the modern monarchy, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown, is out now.
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