The secret diary of a royal photographer
What Queen Elizabeth II was like to photograph and the challenges of covering Harry and Meghan's wedding
Working as a royal photographer may come with its pressures and challenges – being part of the media scrum, waiting (sometimes for hours) for the briefest of appearances, and striving to be the first to file a photo.
But it's also a position of incredible privilege. Ben Stansall, AFP photographer, gave The HELLO! Royal Club an exclusive insight into what it's like to work on the royal beat and, on occasion, be a part of history.
He's been covering the royals since 2010. Some of his most notable assignments include Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding, the births of Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and, more recently, the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Here, Ben chronicles why the late monarch was his favourite subject to photograph, the close calls on the day of the Sussexes' nuptials, and how lessons were learnt after George's birth, which at the time was dubbed the 'Great Kate Wait' by the media.