Meghan Markle defends hypocrisy claims after sharing images of her children to her 4.6million Instagram followers - despite warning of the dangers of social media

By MARTIN ROBINSON, CHIEF REPORTER Published: 00:52, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 00:52, 5 June 2026 Meghan Markle has defended her decision to share images of her two children online more frequently while warning of the dangers of social media to young people as she posted new photos of Lilibet on her fifth birthday. In a post captioned ‘our dream girl’, the Duchess of Sussex released the clearest photo yet of Lili to her 4.6million Instagram followers. A smiling Lilibet is shown in side profile, her strawberry-blonde hair falling across her face as she inspects an agapanthus flower in the grounds of the family’s Montecito mansion. There is also a touching family portrait of Lili being hugged by her parents while in Harry’s arms. Despite the images showing much of the five-year-old’s face, Meghan, through her spokesman, insisted she is protecting her daughter’s privacy while sharing important family moments. The response came after she was accused of hypocrisy last month when she shared an image of Lilibet sitting at her feet in a wardrobe packed with designer fashion before leaving for Geneva to warn of the dangers of social media for children. ‘The Duchess has always been clear that there is a distinction between sharing moments from her life and exposing her children to public scrutiny,’ her spokesman said. ‘By obscuring their faces, she is demonstrating the very principle she advocates for: giving children privacy, agency and protection in an increasingly digital world.’ Hours after the statement was issued, Meghan shared the new images of Lilibet to mark her birthday. Lilibet's side profile is shown as she inspected an agapanthus flower in the California sunshine of their Montecito mansion. Meghan Markle has marked her and Prince Harry's daughter, Princess Lilibet's fifth birthday with two new photos on Instagram including this tender family portrait Critics are not convinced by the Duchess's argument. British brand expert Nick Ede, told Newsweek: 'She can commercialise her social media, obviously as an adult, but it just felt very hypocritical. 'This is still the huge problem with Meghan, it is the whole identity crisis. One minute she's a savior, allegedly, of all children who've unfortunately lost their lives through social media and the next minute she's a social media influencer. So what are you?'. He added of the row over her Geneva speech: 'The day before she went, she posted a picture of herself and her daughter and then literally had the Armani label out of the Armani suit that she's wearing to a very important speech'. Speaking in Geneva on May 17, the Duchess of Sussex said at a World Health Organisation (WHO) event that children's safety online is a 'public health issue'. 'Our children are not products, they are not experiments and not expendable,' she said as she advocated for stronger global protections for children online. 'The platforms value profit over people,' she said. After her ten-minute speech, she then hugged grieving parents who have lost their children to online harm in front of 50 illuminated light boxes, remembering each of them ahead of the 79th World Health Assembly. But the night before, Meghan shared a mirror selfie of herself and her four-year-old daughter on Instagram, with the caption: 'Mama's little helper.'  Royal expert Tom Sykes, who was in Switzerland for her speech outside the United Nation, said: 'The hypocrisy is breathtaking. It is a boastful image. It is a vain image. It is a staggeringly tone-deaf image.' Meghan shared a photo showing her daughter Lilibet helping her pick an outfit for the UN event in an Instagram post with the caption: 'Mama's little helper' Hours later, the Duchess of Sussex spoke on online harms in Place des Nations in Geneva He claimed the Lilibet 'Mama's little helper' photo contained outfits worth at least $250,000, with an Armani coat 'prominently' in the foreground of the mirror shot with 'the label clearly visible'. He added: 'Her Instagram account is a public-facing shop window: it is the funnel that drives traffic to her lifestyle brand, As Ever, to her Netflix content, to her podcast. 'The argument that Meghan does not show Lilibet's face, and therefore protects her privacy, has become absurd. Not showing a child's face does not prevent that child from becoming a social media star. If anything, it manufactures a curiosity gap.' Harry and Meghan marked their daughter Princess Lilibet's fifth birthday with a new family portrait and Lili enjoying their garden. The image showing Prince Harry holding Lilibet with her mother smiling adoringly at the five-year old was shared to Meghan's 4.6 million followers on Instagram.  Lilibet's strawberry blonde hair, which falls past her shoulders, obscured her face from the camera.   Another photo showed the Sussexes' younger child standing in the garden of the family's £11million Montecito home as she admired some flowers. Meghan's caption read: 'Our dream girl. Happy fifth birthday, Lili.'  In the photos, Lilibet is wearing a light yellow sundress previously seen in a behind-the-scenes shoot for her mother's lifestyle brand As Ever. And it appears that Meghan's 'mini me' is developing a style similar to her mother's; in the photo, she sported a thin gold bracelet that looked very similar to the Duchess's £5,800 Cartier 'Love Bracelet'.  Like her older brother Archie, seven, Lilibet spent the first four years of her life shielded from the spotlight while growing up thousands of miles away from the Royal Family. Such was the Sussexes' dedication to privacy that they never followed up her first birthday portrait – depicting the angelic toddler enjoying the sunshine during a picnic at Frogmore Cottage – with any more official snaps that showed her face. When she turned four, Meghan gave fans the first proper glimpse of Lilibet in a black and white photograph that clearly showed her eyes and the top half of her face. Meghan also posted the now-famous video of her and Prince Harry dancing in a hotel room to induce Lilibet's birth, with the Duchess twerking to Starrkeisha's viral Baby Mama song. Days later, she documented the family's two-day Disneyland holiday on Instagram, including sharing the moment Lilibet and Archie met Elsa from Frozen, as well as a picture of the Duke enjoying a theme park ride with his daughter. The social media blitz continued as Meghan paid tribute to her daughter on International Day of the Girl, gave millions of followers a glimpse into their Halloween celebrations and released the Sussexes' annual holiday card. Harry, 41, is shown with his hands cupped protectively around Archie's head. The father and son are staring at one another lovingly, both with smiles on their faces. Next to them on a bridge are Meghan and Lilibet. The Duchess is bent down to rest her forehead against her daughter's while holding both her hands. In dappled California sunshine, Lilibet's face is covered by her hair, which comes down to her shoulder blades. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry enjoyed a sweet family trip to Disneyland with their children on May 11, for Archie's birthday The duchess shared a number of images from the outing to her Instagram account  In the photos, Lilibet is wearing a light yellow sundress that she previously donned for a behind-the-scenes shoot for her mother's lifestyle brand As Ever  The little princess has been featured on Meghan's Instagram page with an increasing frequency over the past year  Lilibet and Harry in Meghan's Valentine's Day post this year  While Lilibet's face was hidden in earlier photos, fans finally saw what she looked like in Meghan's Valentine's Day post. The Instagram snap showed Harry smiling as he held the princess in his arms while Lilibet clutched a bunch of red balloons. It sent fans into overdrive with people commenting on her red hair 'like her father' and her being 'beautiful just like her daddy'. Meanwhile, Archie's face has not been seen in a photo since the Sussexes' Christmas card in 2021. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both advocated for stronger protections for children online, including backing a social media ban for under-16s brought in in Australia. In April last year, the couple unveiled a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media and met families who believe social media played a part in the deaths of their youngsters. Some five months later, Harry warned that the impact of social media on children is 'one of the most pressing issues of our time', as he spoke at a gala in New York. At the same event, Meghan said she and her husband often discussed how they would protect their own children as they grow older. Commenting on the increasing frequency with which Lilibet appears on Meghan's Instagram, branding expert Megan Dooley told the Daily Mail that there has been a 'noticeable shift' in the Duchess's social media policy that may be linked to her brand. The head of London-based TAL Agency said: 'We certainly have seen a noticeable shift in Meghan's approach to featuring her children on public social media, especially when we compare it to hers and Harry's earlier dedication to privacy. 'But a closer look suggests that these appearances are very selective and intentional rather than casual and unplanned.' Instead of interpreting it as a 'reversal on their privacy-oriented stance', Megan suggested it was a 'strategic recalibration of what they post'. She added: 'Meghan is allowing more of a glimpse behind the curtain into their family life – carefully curated, of course – to support the positioning of the As Ever lifestyle brand as warm and aspirational, with its roots in home, motherhood and authenticity.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. 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