Staunch supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have responded after a fan used AI to create a Christmas card featuring faux images of the royal couple's children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their annual festive thank you as a virtual Christmas card earlier this month.
The digital offering read: “On behalf of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundation.
It included six photos of the pair, most of which were snapped during their various charitable endeavours.
One particular image included Harry and Meghan crouching with their arms outstretched to embrace their children Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, whose faces were not visible.
In the weeks since the Christmas card was released, a presumed fan of the Royal couple - who tied the knot in 2018 - has used artificial intelligence to create an alternative version.
Their picture shows a fake black-and-white image of the Sussexes’ young children standing arm-in-arm and ‘smiling’ for the camera.
The family beagles Mamma Mia and Guy were also in the card’s background, which bore the message: "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from Prince Archie & Princess Lilibet.”
There are some glaring errors in the photo, signalling it as AI-generated, including warped floor tiles, one of the dogs missing a leg, and ‘Archie's’ clothes becoming distorted.
Another is that neither of the children’s hands or feet are on show, with one critic commenting: "Hidden hands and feet are very strange. AI can't do hands and feet properly yet.”
It’s thought that the faux artwork was created on Canva before being shared across social media and causing widespread outrage.
One fan has since slammed the card as being ‘very weird’, while another has implored the internet to ‘take down’ the ‘disgusting’ photograph.
“The kids don’t even look like brother and sister. They look like exactly what they are AI,” said someone else.
Now, loyal supporters of Harry and Meghan, known as the Sussex Squad, have had their say on the situation.
In a statement uploaded to X, formerly known as Twitter, a user known as @theroyaleditor has denied that the Sussex Squad was involved in releasing the digital card.
On Monday (December 30), they wrote: “No the 'Sussex Squad' did not release a fake Christmas Card of Archie & Lilibet.”
In the post’s comments section, one user has asked for a Community Note to be added to the AI photograph.
The community-driven content moderation programme is designed to provide content to misleading posts on X while cutting through fake news.
“EXCUSE ME THAT WAS RELEASED BY TROLLS!!!! NOT SUSSEX FANS!!!,” said a second elsewhere.
A fake image of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's children, Archie and Lilibet, has been doing the rounds on social media - weeks after the royal duo released their official virtual Christmas card.
The festive card read: "On behalf of the office of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundation.
"We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful New Year."
It included six photos of the happy couple taking part in some of their many charitable endeavours, as well as a photo of the two crouched down with their arms outstretched, as their children ran towards them.
The children's faces weren't visible.
Since absconding from their royal duties in 2020 following claims of racism regarding Archie's skin colour within the royal household, and Meghan's declining mental health as a result of relentless public scrutiny, the couple have managed to maintain a low profile for their two children following their move to Montecito in Los Angeles.
In the weeks following the release of their Christmas card, an AI-generated image of the children was released on social media and fans are not happy.
It shows a black and white image of Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, looking decidedly older than the last time the Sussexes released official photos of their children.
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The mock-up card reads: "Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. From Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet."
Internet sleuths have discovered that the design is one easily available to use on Canva, a graphic design website.
The fake image shows the 'siblings' smiling and standing side by side - and has sparked outrage, both on behalf of the children and for Meghan and Harry.
While it was obviously fake to begin with as it wasn't released by the pair - who tied the knot in 2018 - the red flags are obvious, including the path bending around Lilbet's knee, as well as their hands behind behind their backs - supporting claims that AI is yet to get hands and feet totally correct when rendering fake images.
One person wrote on X: "Y’all creating AI images of other people’s children. Seek help s**t is weird."
Another said: "The kids don’t even look like brother and sister. They look like exactly what they are AI."
While a third added: "Hidden hands and feet are very strange. AI can't do hands and feet properly yet."
Speaking exclusively to Tyla on behalf of Slingo, Grant Harrold - who previously served in Buckingham Palace as the official butler to Harry's father, King Charles III - pointed out the 'mistake' made by the Sussexes by comparing it to other royal couples.
"A traditional royal Christmas card we’ve seen from the King or the Princess of Wales is normally just a photograph," he began.
"Since I’ve been working with the Royal family, it’s always been quite simple with one photograph.
"Harry and Meghan’s card this year is very different. It’s more of a montage.
"[This] isn’t the correct thing to do. It’s not very Royal."
The internet has been having somewhat of a meltdown ever since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle sent fans their annual virtual Christmas card, which included the use of their royal titles.
Harry, the son of King Charles, and Meghan Markle, tied the knot in 2018.
The marriage led to the two receiving the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The two stepped away from their royal duties in 2020 following a decline in Markle's mental health as a result of relentless public scrutiny.
In a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, she also claimed an unnamed member of the Royal family had questioned her, a woman of colour, on the probable skin tone of her forthcoming child, Archie.
The two relocated to Los Angeles and are no longer referred to as His or Her Royal Highness' (HRH), but retained their titles as the Duke and Duchess.
The Christmas card, which includes six photos of the Sussexes at work and stretching their arms out while playing with Archie and his sister, Lilibet, bears the message: "On behalf of the office of Prince Harry & Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Archewell Productions and Archewell Foundation.
"We wish you a very happy holiday season and a joyful New Year."
Speaking exclusively to Tyla on behalf of SpinGenie, royal expert Grant Harrold weighed in on the use of their royal titles despite no longer being working members of the Royal family.
He said: "It is their title, it’s a bit like Mr and Mrs, it’s very formal, I will say that.
"It is quite a formal way to do something. They’ve got every right to use them, they’re still their titles."
Harrold continued: "HRH was what they agreed to drop, but technically they can still use this. The choice of using this, it’s more an official business approach, if you like.
"They’re technically still members of the Royal family, just not working members of the Royal family. Every other Duke and Duchess in the country will use their titles on official Christmas cards."
Another detail picked up on by spectators is that Archie and Lilibet's faces aren't visible on the card, instead being photographed from the back.
A source close to Prince Harry told People: "Harry has been reluctant to show his children publicly, not out of a desire to hide them but to protect their privacy and safety from potential threats.
"He wants them to lead as normal a life as possible without the fear of kidnapping or harm."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have shared their 2024 Christmas card with the public, prompting a number of responses.
It included photos of the royal couple at work, as well as a photo of them playing with their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
As is the case with a lot of Harry and Meghan's actions, it seems to have attracted a lot of judgement.
The duo stepped away from royal duties in 2020, and relocated to Los Angeles from the United Kingdom, but this hasn't done much to stop critical press and attitudes.
Royal expert Grant Harrold told Tyla on behalf of Slingo: "Since I’ve been working with the Royal family, it’s always been quite simple with one photograph.
"Harry and Meghan’s card this year is very different. It’s more of a montage.
"[This] isn’t the correct thing to do. It’s not very Royal."
He continued: "The impression I’m getting is that they want to show all the things they have achieved and done together this year.
"It’s quite unusual. It’s a nice idea - but it’s more of a promotion of themselves as a couple."
Though it's not just the composition of the card itself that has caused a stir.
Following a whirlwind of headlines earlier this year accusing The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, of photoshopping family photos, it seems Meghan and Harry are being accused of the same thing.
One of the photos on the Sussexes card shows Archie and Lilibet, in the first public photo of them in three years, as they run towards their parents who waited with outstretched arms to hug them.
Archie and Lilibet appear to be the same height in the photo, which has been considered unlikely by a number of spectators due to their age difference.
Many took their concerns to social media.
One person wrote: "The only one in focus is Meghan. Fake photo."
Another said: "Archie doesn't seem to have grown in over a year, and the daughter seems to be his height now."
Despite the naysayers, one expert told the Mail Online that the photo appeared 'genuine'.
Their article continued: "A leading Fleet Street photographer said while it is 'very staged' to make them look like 'the perfect family', he does not believe it is created using AI."
