Meghan's friend slams claims Sussex Christmas card was photoshopped

Meghan Markle's close friend has come to her defence amidst claims that her and Prince Harry's Christmas card was photoshopped.

Fans were thrilled when the Sussexes released their card this year, which featured Archie front and centre for his first Christmas.

In the shot the young royal crawls close to the camera while his parents smile from the background, their positioning leaving their faces partially blurred.

But when a version of the card showing Meghan's face in sharp focus started circulating online, rumours spread that the royals had photoshopped their card.

It wasn't long before Meghan's pal Janina Gavanka, who snapped the gorgeous family shot used for the card, stepped in to defend the duchess.

"So proud to have taken the Christmas photo for one of my best friends and her family," Gavankar wrote on Instagram, where she shared the card.

"Here's the original that was sent out… and to The Mail, I see your campaign against my friend continues. Nice photoshop of my non-photoshopped image.

"Now may we all get back to the spirit of Christmas and not the spirit of maliciousness"

Her comment was in response to several articles published by British tabloids that claimed the photo on the card had been altered.

The Daily Mail wrote that the Meghan's "face appears weirdly in focus in Archie snap while Prince Harry is blurry."

However, it was later revealed that the image had been photoshopped – but not by anyone close to the royals or Gavankar.

It was a fan, Twitter user @SussexDiary, that had edited the card using popular photo app Remini, which can be used to sharpen details in blurry images.

Unfortunately, the fan faced backlash after revealing that they had edited the photo to get a clearer look at Meghan, though they meant no harm by it. The fan account has since been deleted.