Prince Harry, Meghan Markle “Honeymoon Album” Is Fake News Story

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(Star)

A new tabloid cover claims to show a photo from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “honeymoon album.” But the newlyweds have not gone on their post-wedding trip yet, and the picture showcased is actually the work of photoshop. Gossip Cop can expose this blatant fake news story.

The latest cover of Star blares, “Harry & Meghan’s Honeymoon Album! All The Romantic Photos!” The main picture on the front of the issue appears to show Prince Harry and a bikini-clad Markle in a body of water. The lines on the cover further tease, “Top-secret paradise island revealed,” and “Eyewitness: ‘There were fireworks!'” It was all purposefully designed to lead readers to believe the couple is on their honeymoon and the magazine has obtained pictures from their trip. But this is one giant lie.

The photo on the cover is not an authentic image of the royal couple together. Rather, part of it is from Markle’s Jamaica-set wedding celebrations with Trevor Engleson in 2011. The other part is from Prince Harry’s own trip to Jamaica in 2017. The outlet is clearly trying to dupe consumers by digitally editing the separate pictures together with photoshop tools to make it seem like a honeymoon snapshot of the pair together.

The truth is that, as of a week ago, Markle and Prince Harry were in London to participate in Prince Charles’ “birthday patronage celebration,” as Kensington Palace documented on Twitter. For this issue, Star would have had to go to print by late Monday, if not earlier, due to the Memorial Day holiday. In the time in between, or even since then, it has not been established that the new husband and wife are on any kind of trip at all, let alone a honeymoon.

In fact, after baiting fans with the promise of their “honeymoon album,” the actual article inside the issue acknowledges Markle and Prince Harry haven’t actually ventured off yet. It’s merely alleged that she’s “ready to soak up the sun and steal away to a tropical paradise,” but understands that they have to “tend to royal business first.” So, instead of offering up real photos from their honeymoon, the outlet features random pictures of sights in Barbados, Namibia and Botswana, along with a 2016 picture of Prince Harry in the Caribbean.

These pictures are used to illustrate the publication’s claims that he and Markle will be visiting all of those places when they eventually do go on their honeymoon. Of course, all of these locations have been speculated about by the gossip media for months as possible honeymoon destinations with no evidence or proof to substantiate the theories. Now not only is Star further fueling the unverified rumors, but it has purposefully packaged its story to trick readers into thinking the honeymoon is already underway and that they can see the photos if they just shell out $5.99 for a copy of the magazine.

This certainly isn’t the first time the tabloid has been guilty of misleading fans. In both 2016 and 2017, the outlet falsely claimed Markle was pregnant. And just last month, the publication used a photo of Markle crying in character for “Suits” to lead readers to believe her wedding with Prince Harry was in “crisis.” The tabloid has a documented history of spreading misinformation and deceptively using old photos that have nothing to do with the present. This new “honeymoon album” cover story in just the latest example of fake news manufactured by the magazine.