Meghan captioned the photo saying ‘These two + Archie = my forever Valentines’Bradley Jolly and Ambarish Awale Trainee Trends, Showbiz and Lifestyle Writer
10:26, 17 Feb 2026
Meghan Markle faced criticism after posting an Instagram photo of Prince Harry holding their daughter Princess Lilibet.(Image: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety via Getty Images)
Meghan Markle has come under fire for sharing a new photograph of Prince Harry with their daughter Princess Lilibet. The image, posted on Instagram on Saturday, shows the Duke of Sussex holding four-year-old Lilibet in his arms.
The young princess is dressed in a pink dress and matching tights, clutching a bouquet of balloons, while Harry beams at her. Meghan captioned the post: “These two + Archie = my forever Valentines,” despite their son not appearing in the photograph.
Critics quickly took to social media to highlight what they see as a contradiction between the couple’s words and actions. Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, have long championed online safeguarding and privacy, particularly for children, Mirror reports.
The Duke recently engaged in a dramatic High Court battle over what he described as media invasions of his family’s privacy. Following the UK Government’s announcement of proposed changes to children’s social media data storage regulations, the couple praised campaigners for their efforts to protect young users.
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Yet, some social media users were quick to call out the pair as “hypocritical” for sharing the image online. One post read: “Well that didn’t take long did it? Showing the kids faces now. So after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moaned on and on about leaving the royal family for ‘privacy’ wanting to give their kids freedom.
“They saddle them down with Prince and Princess titles even though they live in America.” Another user added: “The hypocrisy is strong with this one.”
Others were critical of the apparent focus on Lilibet alone.
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One comment asked: “How come that over the months they have gone down to just one child, a girl, I thought they had a boy as well, is he not photogenic enough?”
Another accused the couple of insincerity, writing: “Haz was just fake crying about the dangers of social media and children and a day later they post this! Just proving what lying hypocrites they are.”
Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020 and moving to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have repeatedly emphasised their desire for privacy and control over their family life.
Any public post featuring Archie or Lilibet has attracted intense attention and often divided opinion.
Royal journalist Matt Wilkinson previously noted: “My understanding of this or up to a certain stage is that Harry would much rather his children were not seen.”
The latest Instagram post also sparked debate over its authenticity, as Daily Record reported. Fans pointed out a possible ‘photoshop error’ with one of Lilibet’s red balloons appearing to float without a string.
One user wrote: “Have you ever seen a phantom floating balloon?” while another added: “I have to… bad photoshop as one balloon is floating perfectly without a string.”
A third commented: “I’ve never seen a group of balloons behave that well outdoors. It appears to have been photoshopped and they missed the string on one.”