Meghan Markle Posts and Quickly Deletes First Clear Images of Her Children’s Faces — as Fans Claim Social Media Move Was to Get Attention
The Instagram video was quickly taken down after fans noticed they were able to briefly see Archie and Lilibet's faces.
Oct. 28 2025, Published 7:57 p.m. ET
Privacy-loving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are so fearful about showing their children's faces to the world that she deleted a video that contained a split-second frame of the kiddos facing the camera, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The Instagram Reel was sped up to show Harry, 40, carving a jack-o'-lantern from start to finish, even cleaning out the pumpkin's seeds. But in the blink-and-you'll-miss-it frame, Archie, 6, and Lilibet, 4, were seen playing in the background without their faces strategically covered.
Markle and Harry's Kids Make Brief Appearance
Daughter Lilibet made an unexpected cameo showing her face in the video of her dad carving a pumpkin.
The scene took place in the family's backyard at their posh Montecito, California, mansion, after they returned from picking out Halloween pumpkins at a lot in nearby Santa Barbara.
Approximately two seconds into the video, the kids appeared. Archie was still wearing the same dark short-sleeved shirt that he wore to the pumpkin stand, while his sister was in the identical pink knit pajama-style top and bottoms.
The fair skin of Lilibet's adorable face was visible for a brief glimpse, although she was moving too fast for her "blue, blue eyes" to be clearly seen.
Archie was spotted running across the screen in front of his sister while Harry began carving the eyes of his pumpkin into triangle shapes.
Son Archie's face was seen for a millisecond in the video.
Some fans called the move "convenient," as it was closely timed with the launch of Markle's As Ever holiday collection.
"I'm sure Meghan wants everyone to make a big deal about it," one person on X snarked,
A second pointed out, "It's funny when you think about it because the reality is that even if she exposes the kids' faces, no one would recognize them."
"She posts pictures of these children and then cries about the dangers of social media?" a third user scoffed, while a fourth huffed, "For people who state they do not want publicity, they certainly go out of their way to court it."
Pumpkin Patch Trip
Markle has been more openly sharing photos of her children, but always strategically from behind.
In a Sunday, October 26, video Markle posted, the children were both seen on the trip to the pumpkin patch, though all shots showed them from behind, as is the security-obsessed couple's preferred method.
The With Love, Meghan, star slowly began featuring the children more and more ahead of the launch of the Netflix show, with them joining her in the kitchen and garden. She has continued to share content with the kids, but never gives a frontal glimpse of what they look like.
The only time the pair gave fans a direct view of the youngsters was in their December 2021 family Christmas card. It featured Archie looking to the side and smiling while sitting on Harry's lap. The couple's attention was drawn to laughing baby Lili, who was wearing a delicate white dress as the former actress hoisted her daughter into the air.
The professional portrait was taken the summer prior at the couple's home by their favorite photographer, Alexi Lubomirski, who also shot all the official photos at Harry and Markle's May 2018 wedding.
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Desire for Privacy
Archie's only public appearance was during Harry and Markle's royal visit to South Africa in 2019.
The dramatic duo has made their case over the years for why they are reluctant to show their children's faces, amid their desire to raise Archie and Lili out of the public eye.
"These kids don't get a choice, they don't get a say in it," Harry said in 2021 about why they made sure the children were kept far from paparazzi being able to photograph them.
During a 2024 sit-down with CBS News’s Sunday Morning, Markle gushed, "Our kids are young; they’re three and five. They’re amazing. But all you want to do as parents is protect them."
