Meghan Markle Raises Questions Over Divorcee Title on Instagram

Meghan Markle relaunched herself on Instagram to mark the start of 2025—but wrote her title in a style reserved for divorced women.

Meghan posted on a solo Instagram account in her own name for the first time since she had to shut down her pre-royal account ahead of marrying Prince Harry in January 2018.

However, she styled herself Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, rather than the more conventional Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, which she continues to use on her Sussex.com website.

Why It Matters

The change would seem innocuous to most people and may have been entirely accidental. After all, Prince Harry reportedly shot the video that she posted of her skipping across a beach to write “2025” in the sand.

It was, however, always destined to spark speculation as it is the way royals signal a woman’s status as divorced, and has been used in the past by Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson.

In fact, there was a Buckingham Palace review in 2020 after she was erroneously listed as “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex” in a palace statement.

At the time, royal commentator Alastair Bruce told Sky News: “The palace made an announcement about what the duke and duchess were to be called.

“But it inadvertently gives all the wrong messages because, in convention, the style suggested is the one adopted to express divorce.

“As a result, this will be revisited and I’m sure that the expert, called Garter King of Arms, can provide advice.

“What had been suggested was ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,’ but placing the first name and comma before the title is the template for a divorced wife.”

Meghan’s more recent blunder is particularly awkward as the couple have been fending off rumors of a secret divorce in the British press.

What to Know

Prince Harry recently moved to quash the gossip during an appearance at the New York Times Dealbook Summit in New York.

He said: “Apparently we’ve bought or moved house maybe 10 or 12 times and we’ve apparently divorced maybe 10 or 12 times as well.

“So, it’s just like ‘what?’ So, it’s hard to keep up with but that’s why you just sort of ignore it.

“The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls who, their hopes are just built and built and built so it’s like ‘yes, yes, yes, yes, yes’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them, genuinely I do, I mean that.”

Meghan’s video message appears to confirm a story in Page Six in August 2023, which suggested the duchess created the account ahead of the launch of her Archetypes podcast a year earlier.

However, according to the report, she changed her mind at the last minute, leaving the account sitting dormant.

Page Six included a screenshot of the account as it appeared at the time, with flowers as the profile picture and simply the word “Meghan,” with no reference to the Duchess of Sussex.

After that article was published in August 2023, numerous journalists, including at Newsweek, signed up to the dormant account, meaning they were already followers when Meghan dropped her New Year’s Day video.

What Happens Next

Meghan’s video signals she is looking ahead to a big year in 2025 and the fact Harry does not appear in front of camera in her video suggests she may be focussing on solo projects.

She is expected to fully launch her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard and has an upcoming lifestyle show for Netflix.

Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X, formerly Twitter, at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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