Meghan Markle returns to Instagram after royal retirement
Meghan Markle kicks off 2025 with a new chapter in social media.
On Wednesday, January 1, the 43-year-old Duchess of Sussex launched her own Instagram account under the username @meghan to connect with fans around the world and share news about their latest projects.
For her debut post — taken by her husband Prince Harrynear the couple’s home in Montecito, Calif. — Markle jogged along a cloudy beach before pausing to write “2025” in the sand.
Meghan’s return to Instagram came almost five years later final post on her and Harry’s joint page, @sussexroyalshared. “As we all feel, the world seems extraordinarily fragile at this moment. However, we believe that every person has the potential and opportunity to make a difference – as seen around the world, in our families, our communities and those on the front lines – together we can lift each other up to realize fullness is a promise,” they wrote in March 2020, referring to the Covid crisis.
Speaking about the “many challenges that have arisen as a result of this pandemic”, Harry and Meghan, 40, said they were “focusing on this new chapter to understand how we can best contribute”.
They continued: “Although you may not see us here, the work continues. Thank you to this community for your support, inspiration and overall commitment to good in the world. We look forward to meeting you soon. You were great! Until then, please take care of yourselves and each other.
Meghan previously deactivated her personal social media accounts in January 2018, shortly after her engagement in November 2017 to Harry. Shortly before the @sussexroyal account became inactive, she and Harry announced their plans to step away from their older roles as members of the royal family and become financially independent of the royal family. They have since moved to the US with their son Prince Archie, 5, and daughter Princess Lilibeth, 3.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Mike Coppola/Getty Images for the 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Endowment of Hope Gala“I love living (in the U.S.) and raising my kids here, it’s a part of my life that I never thought I’d live, and I feel like it’s my mom’s life (Princess Diana) wanted for meHarry said Andrei Sorokin in The New York TimesDealBook Summit December 4th.
Before launching her new personal account, Meghan returned to Instagram in March 2024 with a page for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard. “From Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Founded in 2024,” accountreads the biography. The only posts in the account were uploaded to form the brand logo on the photo grid.
Meghan previously stated that she “Care” about raising children in a world saturated with social networks. “Today and social networks now influence everyone. Some more than others, she said during a panel at the Project Healthy Minds World Mental Health Day festival in October 2023. – We all just want to feel safe. A lot of it can come down to, if someone is looking for something, please don’t feed them something they’re not looking for that might harm them.”
Harry agreed with his wife at the event, adding: “I think for us, for me and my wife, with children growing up in the digital age, the priority here for us is to turn pain into purpose.”