Meghan Markle and Prince Harry slammed as ‘hypocrites’ over Lilibet Instagram photo

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared an Instagram photo of Prince Harry and their four-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet on Saturday, sparking backlash from social media users who called them ‘hypocritical’

Meghan Markle has come under fire for sharing a photograph of Prince Harry and their daughter Princess Lilibet. The image, posted on Instagram on Saturday, depicts Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, cradling their four year old daughter.

Lilibet is seen in a pink dress with matching tights, holding a bunch of balloons, whilst Harry gazes at her with a wide smile. However, Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, have previously advocated for online safety and emphasised the significance of privacy.

Harry himself was recently involved in a high-profile High Court dispute, expressing his discontent with alleged media intrusion into his private life.

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As the couple lauded campaigners this month following the UK Government’s announcement of amendments to a new law concerning online safety, social media users criticised the pair for being “hypocritical” by posting their photo online over the weekend.

One social media user commented: “Well that didn’t take long did it? Showing the kids faces now. So after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moaned on and on about leaving the royal family for ‘privacy’ wanting to give their kids freedom. They saddle them down with Prince and Princess titles even though they live in America.”, reports the Mirror.

Another chimed in: “The hypocrisy is strong with this one.”

Another post states: “Haz was just fake crying about the dangers of social media and children and a day later they post this! Just proving what lying hypocrites they are.”

A further comment questioned why only Lilibet appeared in the photograph, asking, “How come that over the months they have gone down to just one child, a girl, I thought they had a boy as well, is he not photogenic enough?”.

Since stepping away from royal duties in 2020 and moving to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have regularly spoken about their wish for increased privacy and authority over their family life. However, any public post featuring Archie or Lilibet tends to attract fierce scrutiny – and frequently divided reactions.

This week the royal pair issued a statement following the UK Government’s announcement of proposed changes to children’s social media data storage rules within the Crime and Policing Bill. Harry and Meghan’s position on this matter has been praised, but critics have highlighted the “hypocrisy” of them sharing photographs of their children online.

The couple have generally avoided displaying their children’s faces publicly. Royal journalist Matt Wilkinson previously explained: “My understanding of this or up to a certain stage is that Harry would much rather his children were not seen.”

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