Meghan Markle sparks controversy over one small detail on first Instagram post in years
Eagle-eyed Instagram followers of Meghan Markle have noticed a pretty conspicuous detail in her debut post.
The Duchess of Sussex returned to social media yesterday (1 January) following a four-year break, with the contents of her first upload setting the tongues of royal experts around the world wagging.
Following her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry, Meghan joined Instagram with a new royal profile of her own.
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The account - with the handle @sussexroyal - gained more than one million followers in six hours, but was sadly shut down in 2021.
Elle Magazine reported at the time that the couple - who share a five-year-old son, Prince Archie, and a three-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet - had grown tired of the onslaught of criticism they were often subjected to following their departure from the UK to the US.
Yesterday, however, Meghan came back with a bang, sharing a video of herself running barefoot on the beach before penning the numbers '2025' into the sand.
The meaning behind the Duchess' four-digit note has divided opinion - especially among royal experts - with some believing she's sending out a 'hidden message' about her alleged 'separation' from Harry and her kids, and others adamant she's simply ringing in the New Year.
As we say, however, another aspect of Meghan's return to Instagram has since raised eyebrows - the fact she's turned her comments off.
Naturally, her eagerly-awaited comeback - over a year after the account @meghan was set up - has sent the internet into a spin, with many wondering what type of content is to come.
No matter what the Duchess decides to post, however, neither friend nor foe will be given the opportunity to have their thoughts on it, with the 42-year-old having totally restricted the comment section.
It seems the move hasn't gone down too well with some critics of the Sussexes.
Responding to the trending notion online that Meghan's return has reportedly been spurred by a desire to spark communication with her fans and followers, one user said: "Connect with fans? She disabled the comments."
While her reasoning is not yet clear, it may well be that the Duchess turned her comments off to limit the amount of hate and trolling being splashed across her page.
Speaking on the Teenage Therapy podcast in October 2020, she recalled she and Harry having to shut down their account.
"I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female," Meghan told listeners.
"What was able to just be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable, that’s so big.
"You can’t think of what that feels like. I don’t care if you’re 15 or 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging."
With this in mind, some fans of Meghan have since praised her for switching off the comments.
"Thank goodness she's keeping comments off," one X user penned.
Another agreed: "I’m glad she turned off those comments for peace of mind."
"Good on Meghan for turning off the comments on her IG," a third went on. "She doesn’t need any toxicity from weirdos."
Topics: Celebrity, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Royal Family, Social Media, Instagram
Rhianna Benson