My favorite royal photos are rainy day royal photos. In fact, I discuss this in full with my co-host Roberta Fiorito on this week’s episode of the Royally Obsessed podcast. (You can listen to it here!) But this snap of Prince William and Kate Middleton in the Bahamas last week caught my eye for a different reason: It was snapped by the same photographer who took that now-iconic photo of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, also in the rain.
This Rainy Day Image of William & Kate Has Meghan & Harry Vibes—Here’s Why
Published Mar 31, 2022
•6:00pm
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
The photographer behind the camera? Samir Hussein. (We’ve been lucky enough to host him on the Royally Obsessed podcast more than once.) On an episode recorded back in 2020, Hussein even described the magic that went into that shot of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, taken in the U.K. during their final days as senior members of the royal family in March 2020.
“Normally when there’s a lot of rain, it creates havoc with your flash,” he said. “We knew [Harry and Meghan would] be walking under an umbrella, so quite often, their faces are covered up. It can be very hard to get a clean picture of them.”
Still, the resulting image was picture-perfect, a candid that caught Harry and Meghan gazing joyfully at each other while dealing with an unpredictable variable: the weather. (Of course, it’s lost on no one that this image came on the heels of *other* unpredictable variables they faced during Meghan’s tenure as a royal.)
Samir Hussein/Getty Images
Cue the Cambridges’ trip to the Bahamas, the last stop on what had been a rather bumpy Caribbean tour. Upon arrival, the skies uncharacteristically opened up and Hussein likely saw a similar obstacle, but also an opportunity with the rain, a royal engagement and the pressure to get a good shot.
That’s when I saw the image pop up on his Instagram: William and Kate, this time pictured beneath their own umbrellas, but with the same candid energy and joy as that Meghan and Harry shot. (Bravo, Samir.)
John Downing/Getty Images
Like I said: Whether the subject is Kate, Meghan, Diana or the Queen, the rain is the je ne sais quoi that makes for some magical royal moments. The more unscripted, the better.
For more about the royals, listen to the Royally Obsessed podcast with co-hosts Rachel Bowie and Roberta Fiorito. Subscribe now or follow us on Instagram @royallyobsessedpodcast.
