Kris Jenner’s 70-birthday party has taken centre stage on social media. The matriarch of the Kardashian clan invited the Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to party with A-list celebrities from Beyonce to Stevie Wonder at her birthday, held at Jeff Bezos’ Beverly Hills mansion.
However, on the same day that pictures emerged of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrating among the Hollywood elite, sombre photos of the Royal Family were published at the Albert Hall for the Festival of Remembrance. Princess Catherine joined the King at the event, which honours “all those from the Armed Forces who serve, and have served and sacrificed, from Britain and the Commonwealth”.
Photos posted of the Sussexes by Kim Kardashian and Kris, who are among the most visible people on Instagram with 406 million followers combined, mysteriously disappeared shortly after.
Kim had posted a snap in a purple Balmain two-piece alongside Meghan in a long-sleeved top and maxi skirt, while Kris posted a picture of her between Harry and a laughing Meghan. Another showed Meghan hugging Netflix’s boss, Reed Hastings.
With highly curated Instagrams that uphold the Kardashian brand, which rakes in millions of dollars, experts believe it is highly unlikely these pictures were posted by accident.
Speculation suggests the Sussexes would have requested the post to be deleted, given the poor optics, as the couple was snapped smiling and laughing while the UK honoured the armed forces. Notably, Meghan was pictured without a poppy.
One source explained: “They were polite but firm – nothing goes online without their sign-off. They’ve built their brand on control, and they weren’t about to let a Kardashian post ruin that,” reports the Daily Mail.
It is especially prevalent given that Prince Harry, who had pinned a poppy to his suit, was deployed twice to Afghanistan and was once Captain General of the Royal Marines.
Columnist Amanda Platell wrote for the Daily Mail: “Perhaps it finally dawned upon Harry and his grasping wife that boogying with the great and good of LA while his nation wept for their war dead was not a good look.”