By Molly Claire Goddard
1:21pm PST, Jan 7, 2026
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According to royal expert
Richard Eden,
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's use of their two kids,
Prince Archie and
Princess Lilibet, on the internet goes against what they stand for. "
Prince Harry and Meghan have long been campaigners on the dangers of social media, particularly when it comes to children and young people," he wrote for the
Daily Mail. "What we've seen is Meghan relentlessly using social media, whether that's
Instagram or other forms to promote her company and interestingly, we've seen them use their children more and more in video."
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"It just seems a very strange strategy to me. They're [
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle] definitely very much aware of the appeal of their children. Remember, they insisted on the titles of their children 'Prince and Princess' and to me it looks like they're exploiting their children for the benefit of Meghan's company," Richard Eden said. "They're aware they want to keep their identity secret, so no one will know exactly what their faces look like. To me, this is hypocritical."
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Richard Eden pointed to an Instagram Story from Meghan Markle of
Prince Harry, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet at Disneyland. "You never see their faces full on. You sometimes see a side view, or you often see them from behind," he said. "Either they shun social media or they use it. They can't criticize it on the one hand and then ruthlessly use it, showing videos of their young children."
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During an appearance on the "
Hasan Minhaj Doesn't Know" podcast,
Hasan Minhaj asked
Prince Harry if people should post photos of their children online. "Parents can do whatever they want," he said. "The reality is, from what I've learned, what I've seen, what I've heard and experienced, especially through the Parents Network, is you should be really, really worried, concerned and cautious about putting photographs of your kids online, especially now. With this surge of unregulated AI, you don't know where it's going to go and how it's going to be used."
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Meghan Markle also spoke out about keeping her children safe from online predators. "All you want to do as parents is protect them," she told
CBS News Sunday Morning. "As we can see what's happening in the online space, we know that there's a lot of work to be done there."
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are staunch advocates for keeping kids off social media. "We are so proud that so many of these brave parents are taking a stand, dedicating themselves to fighting for change in a David versus Goliath situation, while educating others to the dangers so that they can be saved from the same exploitative practices and devastating consequences," the Duke of Sussex
said as the couple accepted the Humanitarians of the Year award.
