Arthur Edwards' Magical Memories: The Greatest Royal Photographs of All Time

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Paparazzi pictures of the royals are less common. Catherine, Princess of Wales, takes her own photos of her children and shares them with the press several times a year. It’s a far cry from the unrelenting pressure that Diana and her sons endured. On the other hand, and what this documentary really drives home with actual footage of the Royal Family interacting with Edwards over four decades, is that the truth is much more complicated. Edwards himself explains it in a Zoom interview from London, where he is preparing to cover the coronation this weekend. The chapters cover The Queen, Charles (the early years), The Duke of Edinburgh, Diana, Harry and William, William and Kate, Harry and Meghan, and Charles (the later years). Edwards was the one photographer to meet King Charles III’s flight from Balmoral at RAF Northolt following the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the book includes his coverage of the late Queen’s state funeral. Edwards’ intimate relationship with senior royals clearly crosses the boundaries of the usual relationship between journalist and subject. But after almost five decades – and tens of thousands of pictures – it’s hard to imagine how he could have remained at arm’s length. Arthur Edwards was the only photographer who travelled with Princess Diana to the Red Fort in India.

For 45 years I've chronicled the Royal Family for the Sun newspaper with my camera. I've witnessed their triumphs and disasters, their laughter and tears, when they've found love and when their relationships splinter. I'm there when they emerge from the maternity wing as wailing newborns and I'm there again when they marry before a joyous nation. And when they're laid to rest on those solemn occasions that this country marks so well, I'm on hand to capture history being made. They said, ‘Look, go straight to Heathrow – we’ve chartered a plane for you. It leaves at 3am.’ I landed at 4am, rang the office, and they told me Diana was dead. I went to the tunnel and photographed a little girl laying flowers at the spot where she died. I went to the hospital and convinced them to have a small press pool, to photograph the coffin leaving. Arthur Edwards has been The Sun's (UK) Royal Photographer for over 45 years; the longest serving of any newspaper. Originally from the East End of London, he is the man behind the most iconic photographs of the most famous family in the world. With commensurate skill and unprecedented access, he has captured the candid moments when protocol is put aside, revealing the true personalities behind the Crown.

Edwards also has a very high opinion of the queen consort, Camilla, who disarmed him at first with her spontaneity: “Our first tour was the United States, and I remember going to a market north of Los Angeles, and someone gave her a peach or something and she started to eat it, which no royal would do! But she did. She really enjoyed it,” he tells People. “And I remember saying, ‘Diana would never do that.’ But she was different. And she brought a whole new meaning for Prince Charles. He’s now a much happier person. He’s contented. And he always refers to her as ‘my darling wife.’” At 86, Arthur Edwards is still active and refuses to retire. His next assignment as a photographer will be a first even for a veteran royal photographer like him: namely, a coronation.

It is Charles, however, who changed Edward’s mind about the nature of the job. “For a long time,” he says, he felt the prince was his quarry. “Some girl would grab him and kiss him and I got a great pic that went in the paper. But one day I realized he had a long way to go before becoming king, but in the meantime, he was trying to help people.In his book, Harry explains that he grew up as a traumatised child trapped inside a family business. Is it possible that he simply played the role of the charming prince – a role he felt duty-bound to perform in public – while suffering in private? He uses words like “nasty” and “treacherous”, and can’t understand how the young man who was once the most popular member of the royal family has become “the most despised”. It is perhaps because of his affection and admiration for King Charles and Camilla that Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are not among his favorite royals. In the interview with Stuff, the photographer is said to have used words such as “nasty” and “treacherous” to describe Prince Harry’s actions. Edwards says he doesn’t understand how the young man who was once the most popular member of the British royal family has now turned himself into “the most despised.” He says he also had a pleasant relationship with Harry. Indeed, he watched him grow up, before he left with his family for the United States, made the controversial Netflix documentary with his wife, and penned Spare: “In Africa once, we sat down after a long day and he offered to make me a cup of tea,” he tells Stuff. “He told me about why he was so excited about his charity work, and why it was so meaningful to him. He was a lovely guy. Now, his family won’t talk to him, because anything they say could end up in another book.” In 2015, Prince Harry travelled to New Zealand for the first time. On a public walkabout, Edwards heard the prince tell a well-wisher, “I’m losing my hair, just like my father”. Everybody laughed, and I looked a bit stupid. When we were washing up, I said, ‘What did you do that for?’ He said, ‘You went on TV and told everyone I was going bald’. I said, ‘Well, you told that woman yesterday’. He replied, ‘Yeah, but I didn’t need you to tell the whole world!’”

Diana changed everything, as Edwards points out in the Stuff interview. Edwards says the royal family was previously more stand-offish and rarely interacted with the press, except to talk about the weather. When Lady Di appeared on the scene, the media became more aggressive, bent on turning the public’s obsession with her into a lucrative business. As one of the main players, The Sun spent a large fortune on sending Edwards wherever the Prince and Princess went: “I went on Charles and Diana’s honeymoon,” he says. “When they went skiing, I went skiing. I didn’t go for the first or second day – I went for the whole two weeks. It was a circus. When Diana got on a plane, 30 of us got on the plane with her. Those were the greedy years – the ‘Go, go, go, get, get, get’ years.” HarperNonFiction has bagged a photographic history of the royal family by the Sun’s royal photographer Arthur Edwards.You never know what’s going to happen. That’s when it’s exciting.” He found a Camilla impersonator shortly thereafter in Windsor — another winner of a shot.

For 45 years I've chronicled the Royal Family for the Sun newspaper with my camera. I've witnessed their triumphs and disasters, their laughter and tears, when they've found love and when their relationships splinter. I'm there when they emerge from the maternity wing as wailing newborns and I'm there again when they marry before a joyous nation. And when they're laid to rest on those solemn occasions that this country marks so well, I'm on hand to capture history being made."Edwards says that Camilla’s forte is that she has not lost her connection to the real world. That, and her ability to make people laugh: “I have many photos of them laughing together,” he says. In short, he considers Camilla “a great asset” to the crown. That aggressive paparazzi style… I was aggressive. I was one of the worst. I never stopped. It was just, ‘Get the picture, get the picture.’”