Meghan Markle makes royal title mistake on new social media account

The Duchess of Sussex launched her brand new Instagram account on January 1, kicking off the new year with new hopes and dreams.

But eagle-eyed royal fans have noticed that Meghan and her team have made a royal mistake in her biography, as she has been titled “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex” instead of “Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex”.

The difference is important, as the first is simply a style and the second is a title.

Sarah Ferguson is known as Sarah, Duchess of York because she was once the Duchess of York but no longer remains the Duchess of the county as she divorced Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.

Princess Diana was known after her divorce from then-Prince Charles as Diana, Princess of Wales, because she was no longer “the” Princess of Wales.

© Getty Images

Meghan, however, remains “the” Duchess of Sussex as Prince Harry and his wife did not lose their titles when they stepped down as senior royals in January 2020. They only lost the ability to be addressed as His or Her Royal Highness (HRH).

Harry remains a Prince and fifth-in-line; he also gave up his military titles.

© Getty

Meghan, whose handle is @meghan, made her first post on the account on New Year’s Day, with the mother-of-two opting to share a personal reel which was captured by her husband.

The video was filmed near their home in Montecito where they live with their son Prince Archie and their daughter Princess Lilibet, and showed the former Suits actress running across a beach dressed in white jeans and a white shirt. 

As she ran towards the ocean, she kept looking back at the camera, before – in honor of the new year – inscribing ‘2025’ into the sand with her finger.

Meghan’s Instagram handle first appeared in 2022 accompanied by a previously unseen snapshot of the actress. 

Although Meghan never confirmed at the time whether the account belonged to her, royal fans were left convinced because first-name-only handles are a privilege reserved for celebrities and verified accounts.

© Getty Images Ms. Foundation for

To coincide with her launch, Meghan switched out a picture of pink dahlias – her mother’s nickname for her – for a gorgeous black-and-white image of herself looking relaxed and carefree in a white summer dress. 

The striking portrait was captured by her friend, photographer Jake Rosenberg.

In the two weeks since she launched the account she has also used it to share the first trailer for her upcoming Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, and a heartbreaking tribute to her beloved pet beagle Guy, who died in early January.