Meghan Markle celebrated Princess Lilibet’s fifth birthday with a social media tribute, but the post also reignited debate about how much of the Sussex children’s lives should be shared publicly.
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram on June 4 to mark the occasion, sharing two previously unseen photographs of her daughter alongside the caption, “Our dream girl. Happy 5th birthday, Lili.”
Expert believes Meghan Markle’s photo with daughter Lilibet will face ‘clickbait’ backlash
While the images did not fully reveal Lilibet’s face, they offered another rare glimpse into the family’s life in California. The birthday tribute comes amid what many royal watchers see as a significant change in how Prince Harry and Meghan present their family online. For years, the couple carefully shielded Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, from public view while also advocating for stronger protections for children online.
However, since Meghan relaunched her Instagram account earlier this year, she has shared more family-focused content, and followers have occasionally seen both children appear in her posts.
Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe believes the new photos will likely attract criticism. Larcombe told the Mirror that some critics may accuse Meghan of using the children to attract attention. He argued, “Lecturing about children’s privacy but then posting her own children as clickbait,” he told the Mirror.
According to Larcombe, critics may focus on the fact that Meghan shares family photos while also campaigning for online child safety. Larcombe said Meghan has never told parents not to post pictures of their children.
However, he believes some may question why someone closely linked to online safety efforts is now sharing more family moments publicly. He also suggested that the photos appear carefully planned and could spark more discussion about how the Sussexes manage their public image.
Over the years, Harry has spoken extensively about the pressures he faced as a child under intense media attention. Larcombe suggested the duke could have mixed feelings about the family’s evolving social media presence, given his previous comments about protecting his children from similar scrutiny.
Originally reported by Khushali Srivastava on RealityTea.
