Photo credit: Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle left behind the royal family’s strict social media rules when she returned to Instagram in 2025.
The Duchess of Sussex launched her personal account, @meghan, on New Year’s Day 2025. Her return marked a major change from the restrictions she followed as a working royal.
Before marrying Prince Harry, Meghan maintained her own social media accounts. She also ran her lifestyle blog, The Tig. However, her royal role required her to give up those personal platforms.
Now, Meghan uses Instagram to share her projects, promote her work and offer followers glimpses of her family life.
Meghan gave up Instagram after joining the royal family
Meghan’s social media habits changed after her engagement to Prince Harry in 2017.
At the time, she closed her personal Instagram account and lifestyle blog. According to The List, working members of the royal family can only use official social media accounts.
Those accounts also follow strict guidelines. For example, royal posts typically focus on official duties, charity work, public appearances and palace events.
As a result, Meghan and Harry received the @sussexroyal account. The couple used the page to share updates about their royal work.
However, that arrangement did not last.
In January 2020, Harry and Meghan announced that they would step back from their royal duties. Two months later, they stopped using the Sussex Royal Instagram account.
Meghan returned to Instagram on her own terms
After leaving royal duties, Meghan and Harry built a new life in California.
Then, on January 1, 2025, Meghan returned to Instagram with her personal @meghan account. The move gave her far more freedom than she had enjoyed as a working royal.
Since then, Meghan has used the account to promote several projects.
Her posts have included content related to her As ever brand. She has also promoted her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, and her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder.
Unlike working royals, Meghan can use her platform to promote her own businesses and projects.
Meghan shares more of her family life
Meghan’s Instagram account also gives followers occasional glimpses of Prince Harry and their children.
Some of those photos have appeared inside the family’s Montecito home. That type of content differs from the rules that apply to working members of the royal family.
According to The List, working royals generally use official family portraits rather than interior photographs of their homes.
Meghan’s personal account therefore offers a different level of access. Instead of following palace communication rules, she controls what she shares with her followers.
Meghan has kept her social media freedom
Meghan’s return to Instagram represents a significant change from her years as a working royal.
First, she no longer has to rely on an official palace account. Instead, she controls her own platform.
Second, she can promote her businesses and entertainment projects. She can also share selected moments from her family life.
Meanwhile, working members of the royal family continue to operate under different social media expectations.
For Meghan, that freedom allows her Instagram account to function as both a personal platform and a promotional channel.
Source: The List via Yahoo, September 20, 2026.
About the Author
