Why Did Meghan Markle Delete Her Social Media? A Deep Dive Into Her 2018 Decision Amid Her Instagram Return
The Duchess of Sussex deleted her personal account three months prior to her royal wedding with Prince Harry in 2018
The royal family is one of the most publicly scrutinized and followed groups of all time, so there’s no question as to why they have to remain tight-lipped on social media and stick to rather PR-based answers when responding to public events. All of this considered, it wasn’t a surprise to anyone when Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and former Hollywood star, deleted her personal Instagram account just three months prior to her royal wedding with Prince Harry in 2018.
Given the past scandal that has surrounded the royal clan, keeping an eye on what each member shares with the outside world is important, as they need to follow a strict code of conduct (they are the Royal family, after all). But on New Year’s Day 2025, the Duchess of Sussex made a return to the Meta-owned platform, sparking a major question: Why did Meghan Markle delete her Instagram and why has she decided to return?
Why Meghan Markle left Instagram and why she returned
On January 1, 2025, Markle returned to the social media platform and shared a sweet video of her running on a beach near her home in Montecito, California, captured by her husband. In the video, Markle is all smiles as she draws ‘2025’ in the sand with her finger. Since activating the account, Markle has amassed 808K followers and counting.
Prior to her engagement to Prince Harry, Markle was an avid social media user, often sharing updates on her life and acting career. But once her relationship became more serious and public, she stepped back from Instagram.
But despite her royal duties taking up most of her time, there was another reason Markle pulled back from the social spotlight: She was heavily bullied online by millions of people.
In a 2020 appearance on the podcast Teenager Therapy, Markle shared a disturbing statistic. “I’m told that in 2019 I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female,” she explained. “Now, eight months of that I wasn’t even visible, I was on maternity leave or with a baby. But what was able to just be manufactured and churned out, it’s almost unsurvivable, that’s so big, you can’t think of what that feels like.”
Markle continued, “The digital age has almost created a culture where if you don’t have anything cruel to say, don’t say anything at all. And that is fundamentally changing how we move through the world, how we connect with each other.”
Meghan Markle joins the royal family
The Duchess’ new account handle is simply @meghan, but everyone knows exactly who Meghan is. The former Suits star made waves when she and Prince Harry became engaged back in 2017, as everything about the Duchess seemed to spark a debate.
Once she became involved in royal duties and continued to experience significant online hate, Markle left social media. The criticism didn’t end once she left the platform, however. Markle and Prince Harry dealt with their own struggles as a new couple in a public light, with Markle undergoing mental health issues, causing them to pull back from their official royal duties in 2020.
Following their controversial decision, Markle and Prince Harry began to take on more commercialized projects, including their 2022 docu-series, Harry & Meghan.
If you’re interested in keeping up with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, check out her new Instagram page @Meghan!
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