EXCLUSIVE: Why Meghan Markle is Being Slated Yet Again For Sharing Innocent Image of Daughter Lilibet With the World
Meghan Markle has been facing intense backlash after sharing a new image of daughter Lilibet.
Feb. 24 2026, Updated 1:13 p.m. ET
RadarOnline.com can reveal Meghan Markle is facing yet more accusations of hypocrisy after sharing a Valentine's Day photograph of Prince Harry and their daughter Princess Lilibet – a post critics say jars with the couple's long-running campaign for privacy and online child safety.
The image, published on Instagram, shows Prince Harry, 41, smiling broadly as he holds Lilibet, 4, who is dressed in pink and clutching a bouquet of heart-shaped balloons.
Meghan Markle shared a Valentine’s Day photo of Prince Harry and Princess Lilibet on Instagram.
Critics accused Markle of hypocrisy after the image circulated online.
The post quickly circulated across social media platforms, which has now prompted backlash from users who have used it to dig up the Sussexes' previous public warnings about the dangers of online exposure for children.
Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020 and relocating to California, Harry and ex-actress Meghan, 44, have repeatedly framed their departure from Britain and the royal family as being driven by a bid for greater autonomy and protection from intrusive media scrutiny.
Harry has also been engaged in ongoing legal battles in the U.K. concerning press intrusion, including a High Court challenge over security and privacy concerns. And the couple has spoken publicly about the risks social media poses to young people and has supported tighter regulation of online platforms.
The Privacy vs. Branding Debate Reignites
Social media users resurfaced the couple’s past warnings about online child safety.
They recently issued a statement praising campaigners after the U.K. Government proposed amendments to children's social media data storage rules within the Crime and Policing Bill.
The move was widely welcomed by online safety advocates. Yet the decision to share an image of Lilibet on Valentine's Day, even without revealing her full face, has reignited debate about how the couple balances advocacy with personal branding.
Online reactions are now brutal. One user wrote: "Well that didn't take long did it? Showing the kids' faces now. So after Prince Harry and Meghan 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."
Another critic posted online about Meghan: "The hypocrisy is strong with this one."
A third added: "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 image, with a troll cruelly 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?"
Harry and Meghan have typically limited public images of their children, rarely sharing clear photographs of Archie, 6, or Lilibet.
The 'Consent and Control' Strategy
The Sussexes praised proposed amendments to children’s social media data storage rules.
A source familiar with the Sussexes' communications strategy said: "In their view, there is a fundamental difference between voluntarily posting a single, curated image and being subjected to constant surveillance by photographers. They see one as an intentional act of sharing within boundaries they set themselves, and the other as an invasive loss of agency."
The insider continued: "For Harry and Meghan, the key issue has always been about consent and control. They argue that deciding when and how to show a glimpse of their family life is not the same as having it extracted without permission. While critics can feel free to interpret it as mixed messaging, the Sussexes consider it a deliberate exercise in managing their own narrative rather than surrendering it to outside forces."
Another insider said: "There is always going to be a delicate balancing act when you are campaigning for tougher online protections while also using social media as a communication tool. That paradox is exactly what critics latch onto, they see participation as endorsement, even if the intention is reform."
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The image sparked intense scrutiny and fueled debate about their advocacy.
The source continued: "From Harry and Meghan's standpoint, the debate has never been about disappearing from public view entirely. It is about the lack of meaningful guardrails, the absence of enforceable protections for children and families. They would argue that visibility, when it is voluntary and measured, is not the same as exposure without safeguards. The challenge is that nuance often gets lost in the outrage cycle."
Basically, what this latest wave of trolling shows is how intensely scrutinized they remain. A single image, posted for a holiday, quickly becomes a proxy battle over their credibility, their advocacy, and their broader relationship with public life.
For the Sussexes, that level of reaction has become almost routine.
