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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry orchestrated several “mock photo ops” when they moved to the US, a veteran paparazzo claims.
California-based photographer Mark Karloff, who has been in the business for 17 years, spoke in a new interview about how there was a huge interest in the royal couple when they left the UK in 2020.
He claims the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s popularity has since “died down,” however, and that trying to get the perfect shot of them just isn’t “worth” the hassle.
“When Harry and Meghan first came here [to California], it was a mad scramble to find where they were staying, where they were going to be living, and it was every photographer in LA trying to find out every secret,” Karloff told Techreport, per The Post.
“At the same time, they were running around doing mock photo-ops. They were doing setups, they would pop up and be doing some charity work, and I think it was their photographers, so everyone was very frustrated.”
Karloff explained that he shot the royal couple “at a couple of events when they first arrived,” but soon changed his mind.
“Then I decided it was too much for me,” he recalled. “The craziness of that kind of photo, I stay away from that because it’s not exclusive, and they don’t make as much money.”
Karloff further explained in the interview that there are several other reasons as to why photographers have been shooting the couple less frequently in recent years.
“In the US, and in my experience, [interest] has died down a lot. Now they aren’t worth the hassle, and the payday isn’t the same; people don’t care as much as they used to,” the pap said. “[There] are opportunities to get them, but I think they want control, Meghan especially.”
Page Six has reached out to reps for the Sussexes for comment.
Back in May 2023, the couple were infamously involved in an allegedly “near-catastrophic” paparazzi car chase through Manhattan.
Prince Harry and Markle — along with the “Suits” alum’s mother, Doria Ragland — were leaving the Ziegfeld Theater in Midtown when photographers pursued them.
Eventually, the trio ditched their SUV and hopped into a cab.
It was initially reported as a two-hour dangerous car chase that left the couple “extremely upset and shaken,” per a rep, who also claimed there were near collisions with pedestrians and other vehicles.
However, the NYPD downplayed the incident and stated there were no collision reports or 911 calls, and that the “chase” did not last two hours.
That hasn’t stopped the couple from beefing up their security measures, however.
Just last week, Markle attended a performance of “Gypsy” on Broadway with a hefty security detail that included three SUVs and an unmarked police car.
A paparazzi source told Page Six at the time that the “With Love, Meghan” star’s security measures were “absolutely abnormal, totally over-the-top and excessive.”
