Exclusive:
As Meghan Markle surprises fans with a New Year’s Day return to Instagram, Judi James has delved into the ‘undercurrent story’ of her first video, picking up on one telling ‘clue’
Video shows Meghan Markle running along beach
Kicking off 2025 with a bang, Meghan Markle has today returned to Instagram, with an account simply called ‘meghan’.
Leaving aside all titles – or mention of husband Prince Harry – the Duchess of Sussex’s first video reel shows her running along an overcast beach, carving out ‘2025’ in the damp sand with her finger before laughing and dashing off camera.
The account, which has yet to receive a blue tick, has already clocked up 126K followers and counting – including celebs such as Julia Fox – and the focus here seems to be very much on Meghan as an individual, rather than the Sussexes as a couple.
Prince Harry was nowhere to be seen in the short clip, but it’s believed he was the one behind the camera. The couple, who have previously worked together as a unit, have been focusing on their own separate projects in recent times, in what has been referred to as a “professional split”.
Now a body language expert has opened up about the mother of two’s “very confident but playful” return to social media, as Meghan, 43, continues to carve out her own individuality away from the formalities of palace life.
Judi James told the Mirror : “Well, it looks like a very confident but playful Meghan is re-opening that Pandora’s box that is social media here, posting an enigmatic little video that is more celebrity in mood than royal.
“The body language appears pinned on the person holding the camera here, as doing smiling zoomies down a beach would normally imply a desire to be chased. There’s even the ‘clue’ of those huge footprints in the wet sand to match up with Harry’s feet, so the undercurrent story seems to be that the romance is still alive in the Montecito household.
“Otherwise though, this is a view of Meghan that appears to be symbolic of freedom. Her all-white outfit and her perfectly-manicured bare feet plus the breathless giggle as she darts across the screen all seem to signal peaceful solitude and an ability to breathe again.”
She continued: “The gap in her personal social media use seems to have been about privacy but here she looks happy but a little coy about opening up those doors again for some direct, peek-a-boo communication with the public in a very celebrity-based way.
“Her dilemma might have been that a lack of direct communication can lead to speculation and rumor, while some direct chats will allow her to control the narrative again. Catherine’s stunning video with William and their children might have been the toe-dip in the water that proved it is possible to be royal and to share or reveal your emotions in a way you might not be able to do in public life.”
Ahead of her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan deactivated her Instagram, Twitter (X) and Facebook accounts, as well as her lifestyle blog The Tig, where she would write about topics such as food, travel and fashion. Back in August 2022, Meghan hinted at her return to social media, telling The Cut: “I’m getting back … on Instagram.”
Meghan’s new Instagram account was created back in June 2022 – at around the time of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, and has had one previous username prior to the current handle. The Sussexes also have an official joint Instagram account, ‘sussexroyal’, which boasts more than nine million followers, but hasn’t been used since 2020, when the couple decided to take a step back as working members of the Royal Family.
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