Prince Harry and Meghan Markle enlisted a celebrity fashion photographer who was worked with Kanye West and Vogue, to capture their Remembrance Sunday photo shoot.
The couple were accompanied by one of their new favourite personal photographers Lee Morgan, as they ‘personally recognised’ fallen Commonwealth soldiers by visiting the Los Angeles National cemetery yesterday.
The Afro-American and Brazilian photographer, who specialises in ‘fashion and celebrity portraiture’, has worked with a string of exclusive clients since launching his career aged 18, including Vogue, Adidas and Bloomingdales.
LA-based Mr Morgan has also worked with fashion designers Rick Owens, Alexandre Plokhov and rapper Kanye West’s brand Yeezy.
In previous years, the Duke has marked the day with visits to the Cenotaph and Westminster Abbey’s Field of Remembrance.
This year, he and wife Meghan laid flowers they had picked from their $14 million Santa Barbara mansion at the cemetery’s two Commonwealth gravestones – one for an Airman who had served in the Royal Australian Air Force and one for a soldier from the Royal Canadian Artillery.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pictured during a private visit to the Los Angeles National Cemetery on Remembrance Sunday
The couple ‘personally recognised’ fallen Commonwealth soldiers by visiting the Los Angeles National cemetery accompanied by one of their new favourite personal photographers, Lee Morgan
Lee Morgan, who specialises in ‘fashion and celebrity portraiture’, has worked with a string of exclusive clients since launching his career aged 18, including Vogue, Adidas and Bloomingdales. LA-based Mr Morgan has also worked with fashion designers Rick Owens, Alexandre Plokhov and rapper Kanye West ‘s brand Yeezy
Lee Morgan works as an editorial and commercial photographer and shot this front cover for Pride magazine
The LA-based photographer was also behind the lens for this shoot, which focused on women making an impact at the technology company, Verizon
The artistic shots captured the couple walking down through the cemetery before placing flowers and a wreath
They also placed a wreath at an obelisk in the cemetery that features a plaque that’s inscribed ‘In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives in Defence of Their Country’
It comes after Harry was reportedly refused permission for a wreath to be laid at the Cenotaph on his behalf today
LA-based Mr Morgan, who has also worked with rapper Kanye West’s brand Yeezy, took these images of the Duke of Sussex
Harry and Meghan pay tribute to servicemen
Harry and Meghan visited the grave of Cpt William Quayle Setliffe Sr
Captain William Quayle Setliffe Sr
Harry and Meghan visited the grave of CPT William Quayle Setliffe Sr.
The Captain was born on July 30, 1885 and served in the First World War, before dying on Christmas Day in 1946 at the age of 61.
He served with the Royal Canadian Artillery.
The couple also laid flowers in memory of the Ronald William Scott, a Leading Aircraftman in the Royal Australian Air Force.
The Aircraftman died in the Second World War, aged just 22.
Ronald was born on November 20, 1921, and killed in an accident on February 12, 1944.
His name is located at panel 133 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial.
The gravestone in memory of Aircraftman Ronald William Scott
The couple also placed a wreath at an obelisk in the cemetery that features a plaque inscribed ‘In Memory of the Men Who Offered Their Lives In Defence Of Their Country’.
Harry, who spent 10 years in the armed forces, wore his service meals as he lay a wreath on which he wrote: ‘To all of those who have served, and are serving. Thank you.’
The pair wore masks on the way to the cemetery, though they were pictured without them when they reached the graves.
Mr Morgan is a trilingual photographer and filmmaker, who speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish, grew up between Brazil and New York in the US.
He currently lives in Los Angeles on the west coast of America where he works as an editorial and commercial photographer.
His website says he ‘specializes in fashion and celebrity portraiture’ and he says on his LinkedIn page he enjoys ‘collaborating with artists and creatives from diverse cultural backgrounds and contributing my time to great teams with great ideas.’
He encourages people to ‘be a good person’ and ‘be likeable’ in a video posted online from behind the scenes of a previous photoshoot.
Born in Germany to a Brazilian mother and African American father, Morgan first discovered an interest in photography after seeing family snaps of his parents dancing together.
Both dancers, his artistic parents would take him to art galleries and exhibitions as a child, which sparked his love of the arts and he took up photography as a hobby in his early teenage years.
In a behind the scenes video from one of his previous photoshoots, Morgan, 39, said: ‘I was born in Germany and raised between New york and Brazil. My mother is Brazilian and my father is African-American. They’re both dancers.
‘I became interested in photography in my early teens. I would see photographs of my parents dancing together and they would take us to art and photo exhibits.’
Morgan said it was being on set for a photoshoot that inspired him to take up photography as a full time career.
After shadowing a photographer, he realised he could make money from the craft.
He said: ‘So around 13-years-old I became really interested in photography. I decided to make this my career from 18-years-old. I got the opportunity to follow a photographer and see how an actual photo shoot worked.
‘I was really interested and saw that it could be a business and how I could make money taking photos and I made it a career’.
Morgan has since worked with a string of prominent clients in the US, including Bloomingdales, Facebook and Macy’s.
In 2014 his work was also shortlisted for two awards at the London Fashion Film Festival.
He did a series inspired by surfers, which saw him re-imagine skateboarders surfing tarpaulin waves inside a Brooklyn photography studio.
The work netted him nominations in the Best Story and Best advertisement categories, but he made the shortlist for both awards and was pipped to the win by other filmmakers.
In his behind the scenes video, posted on Vimeo, he added: ‘My favourite photos are the images of certain sports maybe or outdoor activities that I’ve stumbled upon. I had a camera and took some photos. I just like to take pictures.’
When asked about his advice for other young artists hoping to break into the arts industry, Morgan said: ‘My advice for young adults trying to pursue a career in the arts is to be honest, do your research, devote your time to your craft, don’t burn any bridges down, the world is small and New York is smaller. You may need someones help in the future.
‘Always be nice. Try to be likeable. Figure out what you want to do do for money, because you’re going to need a job and if you don’t plan for a job to sustain your arts, it’s going to be tough. Be a good person.’
The couple laid flowers that The Duchess picked from their garden at the gravesites of two commonwealth soldiers
Prince William and Prince Charles at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in London yesterday
The Queen watched from above the Cenotaph for the National Service of Remembrance and kept a close eye on proceedings in London yesterday
Meghan and Harry have come under fire for arranging for a photographer to capture their personal act of Remembrance.
It comes after it emerged Prince Harry made a personal request to Buckingham Palace to have a wreath laid at the Cenotaph on his behalf at the private service on Remembrance Sunday.
But his request was reportedly refused as he left royal duties in March, following ‘Megxit.’
The Queen was not thought to have been informed of the request or its refusal, which is said to have ‘deeply saddened’ the Duke of Sussex, the Times said.
It later emerged that Harry’s wreath was made at the Royal British Legion’s Kent HQ for £1,000, but lay there forgotten yesterday.
A spokesman for the RBL told Mail Online Royal wreaths are made in advance of the Remembrance period and not to specific requests, then stored for later use.
Instead, the couple organised their own act of remembrance and laid flowers at two graves, one for those who had served in the Royal Australian Air Force and one for soldiers from the Royal Canadian Artillery.
TV host Piers Morgan criticised the pair for arranging to have a photographer at the event.
He slammed their decision as ‘outrageous’ and accused them of using it as a ‘PR opportunity’.
He wrote on Twitter: ‘Just outrageous – treating Remembrance Sunday like a PR opportunity, & trying to steal headlines from the real royals doing their duty back home.’
‘If they wanted to be’ ‘left alone’, they wouldn’t do PR stunts every day to get media attention,’ he responded to another social media post.
His comments were met with agreement from other members of the public.
One person wrote on Instagram: ‘They aren’t royal. This should not be a photo op.’