Artist who created a sketch of the Sussexes’ 2021 Christmas card says she’s ‘honoured’ after royal fans spot the work framed on Prince Harry’s shelf – and reveals Meghan sent a ‘beautiful thank you card’

An artist who created an adorable piece based on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 2021 Christmas card has expressed her shock after royal fans spotted it taking pride of place in the Duke’s office.

Jennifer Vallez, who specializes in sketches of the royal family, posted on Instagram after a screenshot of an old video of Prince Harry resurfaced.

An eagle-eyed royal fan posted the screenshot to X/Twitter and noticed the artwork in a frame on the shelf behind Harry in the study of his Montecito mansion. It is unclear when the video was recorded.

It was accompanied by other sweet tributes to the Duke’s family, including a black and white photo of Prince Archie and another photo from Harry and Meghan’s engagement photoshoot.

After the royal fan spotted Jennifer’s sketch, the delighted artist revealed she sent the couple the sketch about a year ago – and confirmed they hadn’t asked for freebies.

Writing on Instagram, Jennifer said: ‘OMG. I’m dying!!!! About a year ago, Meghan’s assistant asked for prints of some of the drawings I had done of her and Harry.

“I never expected them to REALLY have them in the house.”

Many people left comments under the post congratulating Jennifer on her work and raving about the “cute” piece.

In a post to her Instagram Story on her other account, @sophieandlili, Jennifer confirmed that the Sussexes had paid in full for the sketch, after some people asked if it was a free copy.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were in the adorable 2021 photo

She revealed: ‘I’ll just say that no one on M’s team asked for anything for free.’

While responding to the congratulations, Jennifer said, “I knew (Meghan) had them because she sent a nice thank you card, but you never know if they actually frame anything. I am honored.’

In another post, the artist revealed that she had sent a number of sketches to the Sussexes, including images of Meghan with her mother Doria, the couple’s stunning outdoor photoshoot to announce the Duchess’s second pregnancy, and an official royal photo of Prince Archie’s baptism. .

Other sketches in her portfolio include adorable images of the Princess of Wales, King Charles and Queen Camilla, and Princess Anne.

This week, the Sussexes released a video clip from a mental health summit they hosted last year, highlighting their concerns about young people’s use of social media.

The clip, filmed during their World Mental Health Day discussion in New York on October 10, was released in light of a US Senate Committee hearing on online child safety, in which Mark Zuckerberg apologized to families who claim social media contributed to the suicides of their children.

In the video – released with a statement about online child safety – Meghan says: ‘When the car was first invented there was no seat belt. And what happened? People got hurt, people started dying. So you started changing the car.”

US-based artist Jennifer Vallez has revealed she is ‘honoured’ after royal fans spotted her sketch on Prince Harry’s shelf

Harry says: ‘We need to get rid of the idea that there is something wrong with young children. No, it is the world we create around them. Please stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see.”

And Meghan adds: ‘Everyone is now influenced by the online world and social media. There is an entry point: a positive and creative community, but we all just want to feel safe.”

The couple described the hearing on child safety online as being “in front of a packed room of dozens of parents whose children have suffered or died as a result of online harm.”

They added that their Archewell Foundation has “worked with many of these families to provide a support network for parents dealing with grief or who have children struggling with serious mental health issues as a result of their exposure to harmful online -contents’.

In a joint statement accompanying the video on their website, the Sussexes said: ‘We applaud the courage and determination of the thousands of parents across the country whose advocacy led to this hearing.

“Over the past few years, we have spent time with many of these families, listening to their grief and their hopes for the urgent change needed in the online space.

“This is an issue that transcends divisions and party lines, as we saw during today’s Senate hearing. The best parenting in the world cannot protect children from these platforms.

‘As one of the fathers told us, ‘If love could have saved them, all our children would still be here.’

‘This is not the time to pass the buck. It is time to make the necessary changes at the source to keep our children safe.”