If you’re keeping up with the royals—and, by virtue of reading this article, we’re betting you likely are—you’ve probably heard the buzz of the past few days: Is this account Meghan Markle’s long-awaited return to Instagram, finally happening right before our eyes?
The Instagram handle is, simply, @meghan and—despite the account having no posts, following no one, and bearing a profile picture of pink flowers—it has already amassed more than 54,300 followers as of Monday morning (up from 21,000 on Thursday night, Access reports). Per Page Six, a source is claiming the account does belong to the Duchess of Sussex, and that she got the page before launching her “Archetypes” podcast last August—but somehow, despite the very obvious Instagram handle, fans are just now noticing it.
“Meghan was set to go live on Insta but changed her mind shortly before she launched her ‘Archetypes’ podcast, so it’s just sitting there now,” a source said, per the outlet.
In a cover story with The Cut that same month, Meghan teased her return to social media: “Do you want to know a secret?” she said. “I’m getting back…on Instagram.” Prior to marrying Prince Harry in 2018, Meghan was an avid Instagram user, but shut down her social media when she married into the royal family that May. “It was a big adjustment—a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life,” she told The Cut.
Upon marrying into the royal family, Meghan joined Harry and the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, on their shared account, @KensingtonRoyal. In April 2019, Harry and Meghan set up the @SussexRoyal account, which reached 1 million followers within six hours. The account was shut down not long after they left their roles as working members of the royal family in early 2020.
Friday was Meghan’s birthday, so perhaps the hype around the recently discovered @meghan handle reached fever pitch because of that occasion, as Meghan is known to sometimes announce new projects and ventures on her big day. But, so far, nothing from the account. And, per The Daily Express, the account’s current profile picture might carry a poignant meaning: It’s thought to be a nod to her mother, Doria Ragland, who is very close with her only child and gave her the childhood nickname “Flower.”
