Meghan Markle is facing fresh criticism over her approach to protecting her children's privacy online after posting new images of Princess Lilibet on social media shortly before delivering a public speech about the dangers digital platforms pose to children.
The controversy erupted after royal commentator Tom Sykes accused the Duchess of Sussex of sending contradictory messages by sharing carefully staged images of her children while simultaneously advocating for stronger protections against online harms affecting young people.
The criticism centered on a recent Instagram post in which Meghan Markle shared a photograph featuring 4-year-old Princess Lilibet with her back turned toward the camera. The image appeared hours before Meghan participated in a public engagement in Geneva focused on children's online safety and social media risks.
Since relaunching her Instagram presence earlier this year, Meghan has periodically posted family photographs and videos featuring Lilibet and Prince Archie, though the children's faces are typically obscured or turned away from the camera.
Sykes argued that the strategy does not truly shield the children from public attention.
"The argument that Meghan does not show Lilibet's face, and therefore protects her privacy, has become absurd," Sykes said. "Not showing a child's face does not prevent that child from becoming a social media star. If anything, it manufactures a curiosity gap."
His comments reflect a broader debate surrounding celebrity parenting in the social media era, where public figures increasingly attempt to balance family privacy with personal branding and audience engagement.
The issue became more politically charged because of the timing surrounding Meghan's Geneva appearance, where she reportedly spoke about the psychological and developmental risks children face online.
"Just hours before this vital event, Meghan chose to post a photograph of herself smirking as her four-year-old daughter, Lilibet, watched her try on outfits," Sykes said. "Yes, a woman who is about to stand alongside the world's most senior public health official and discuss the measurable, preventable harms of exposing children to social media has just exposed her own child to social media. The Geneva speech is the rhetoric. The closet photograph is the reality."
Sykes also claimed Meghan's social media presence functions as a commercial platform tied closely to her expanding business ventures, including her lifestyle brand, podcast projects and Netflix-related media work.
The Duchess of Sussex has increasingly leaned into lifestyle-focused content in recent months as she continues developing her personal brand outside the Royal Family. Her Instagram account regularly features curated glimpses into family life, fashion, travel and home-related themes while promoting projects connected to her broader media and business strategy.
Online reaction to Meghan's Geneva speech quickly split along familiar lines.
Supporters praised the duchess for speaking publicly about online harms affecting children and adolescents. Some social media users described her as an advocate willing to use her platform to address difficult issues involving mental health and digital culture.
Critics, however, questioned whether her messaging aligned with her own online behavior.
One social media user wrote, "Calm your farm mate. MM wasn't there cuz she cares about those kids who died. Meghan Markle is such a greedy, complicit conwoman, grifter, pathological liar and emotional abuser. She is the MOST unauthentic and un-organic person on this earth."
The criticism intensified because the latest Instagram post was not an isolated example. Earlier this month, Meghan shared a Mother's Day photograph showing herself kissing her mother, Doria Ragland, while Archie and Lilibet stood nearby with their faces hidden from view. The image was reportedly taken during a Disneyland visit.
Weeks before that, Meghan posted another image featuring Lilibet with her face partially concealed in a Valentine's Day-themed upload.
Neither Meghan Markle nor Prince Harry has publicly responded to the latest criticism surrounding their children's visibility online.
