Celebrity tattoo artist breaks silence on Prince Harry visit

The New York City tattoo artist who inked Prince Harry has opened up about his star-studded roster and the designs which bring celebrities flocking to his studio.  

Josh Lord didn't give specific details about the Duke of Sussex's body art, but revealed the features of his artistry which draw elite clients in - offering clues into the type of of tattoo Harry might have ordered. 

The veteran tattooist said patrons seek him out for his elaborate, fine-line black-and-gray realism pieces which are often punctuated with monochromatic shading. 'I definitely love doing more detailed pieces,' Lord told Revolver Magazine.

Lord also gave inside stories about the extraordinary designs he has done for other celebrities - from the Avengers cast who ended up switching places and tattooing him, to the time Rihanna almost got his Lower East Side parlor shut down. 

Rihanna first came to Lord's East Side Ink parlor in 2009 for an undisclosed design, and though he didn't know who she was at the time, he let her mark his junk leg with a small umbrella featuring an 'r'. 

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But the encounter had unintended consequences - prompting New York City's health department to investigate the shop over rogue unlicensed tattooing by the superstar.  

'We were raided by the health department immediately after that whole incident and then there was just like a huge media storm about us getting in trouble, being fined, but none of that actually happened,' Lord told Revolver. 

'She did not get fined; she wasn't here when they raided us anyway. It was a non-story that they (gossip magazines) made into a huge story, but in a way it was really a wild to watch the media storm unfold. 

'It was probably publicity we could have never paid for otherwise.'

Meanwhile, Lord's Avengers gig stemmed from his personal connection with actress Scarlett Johansson, who commissioned him for a floral design on her back.  

Lord revealed that Johansson convinced her castmates: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo to join her in getting matching tattoos to mark the April 2018 release of Avengers: Infinity War. 

The artist was such a hit with the cast that they ended up switching places and each tattooing a tiny Avenger onto what he calls his 'junk leg' - a limb he's reserved for amateur inkings by celebrities and friends. 

'The Avengers tattoo was so much fun, but also there's a lot of pressure,' Lord told Revolver. 

'I'm a huge fan and so getting to do, and design … let me just say that getting six of the most famous people in the film industry to agree on one design was difficult and trying.' 

'They gave me parameters that included delicate enough for the ladies — and Chris Hemsworth­ — and masculine enough for everybody else,' he added. 

'There's a symbol for everybody in the movie hidden in there. Their initials are also all hidden in there … Everyone was involved in the creative process. Everyone wanted to have something to commemorate their time together, their characters.'

Lord added that Ruffalo chickened out - but during a later encounter he traced his finger over Lord's newly-inked Avengers tattoo, prompting him to disinfect himself with a vodka drink.

 'I assume it is probably a very clean finger, but it really doesn't matter,' Lord told Revolver. 'It's still a dirty finger to me touching a fresh tattoo, which is exactly what we want people not to do!

'Luckily, I had a stiff vodka drink and just dumped it on it, which also does not actually save you from infection, just for the record. So, I got fingered by Mark Ruffalo.' 

Lord also revealed that he has tattooed Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, actresses Cate Blanchett and Susan Sarandon - along with a fake tattoo on John Cena's neck for a movie. 

'When I designed his tattoos, I measured him carefully,' the tattooist told Revolver. 

'The [manufacturers of the fake tattoos] were sure that I had accidentally doubled the size or that it was for his waist, but I kept reassuring them. I measured him over and over again. It's just that he is a massively huge character.'  

It comes after the Duke of Sussex dropped into East Side Ink in the city's Lower East Side at around 1pm on Wednesday and spent around an hour inside. 

It remains unclear what kind of ink - if any - the royal opted for. Staff at the shop were tight-lipped when questioned about his visit. 

'I couldn't tell you anything about anyone that stopped by without their permission. We would respect anyone's privacy in the exact same way,' Lord told DailyMail.com.

'A tattoo is a deeply personal choice.... anything that happens here is your private moment.'

The royal pulled up in a black SUV flanked by members of his security team and the NYPD, images obtained by Page Six show.

The shop's owner said the prince stayed at the shop, where sessions cost up to $350 an hour, until just after 2pm. 

The tattoo parlor is renowned among celebrity circles, with the likes of 'Avengers' stars Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans and Jeremy Renner all previously getting matching ink there.

East Side Ink, which opened in 1992, describes itself as one of the oldest tattoo parlors in New York City.

When it opened, the shop 'catered exclusively to bikers and hard-core body-art aficionados'.

However, today it boasts of tattooing everyone from, 'neighborhood punks to Oscar-Winning celebrities'.

'On any given day, you might find your favorite actor or musician getting tattooed right next to neighborhood regulars,' the website states.

The shop was listed as one of New York City's best tattoo parlors on Time Out's list for 2024. 

'It's an honor to get to do a lot of these,' Lord said of his A-list clientele, which also includes fake tattoos for TV shows including True Detective, for which the shop won an Emmy, and The Penguin.

Harry was in the Big Apple this week to support various  pet charities and businesses including African Parks, The HALO Trust, The Diana Award, and Travalyst. 

The visit forms part of a solo eight-day trip to New York and the UK, without wife Meghan Markle.

The prince is due to fly to London this weekend for his annual visit to support WellChild at their awards ceremony, again without his wife.

Royal experts previously told DailyMail.com his solo trip shows he is determined to 'carve out' new opportunities and 'assert himself' after turning 40.

On Sunday, Harry was seen greeting Queen Mathilde of Belgium, actor Forest Whitaker, several UN Agency Heads, and other dignitaries, for an event to honor survivors of childhood violence.

He also spoke during a summit organized by the Clinton Global Initiative at the New York Hilton hotel on Tuesday.

The prince has previously spoken of his desire to get inked in his memoir 'Spare'.

In the anecdote, he described wanting to get a tattoo of Botswana amid a a boozed-up trip to Las Vegas where he was celebrating his new found freedom after stepping back as a senior royal. 

However, his security team stepped in and persuaded him not to go ahead.

'I was not going to get a tattoo, not on their watch, least of all a foot tattoo of Botswana,' Harry said.

'They promised to hold me down, known me out, whatever it took.'