Will Meghan Markle Earn $1m a Post on Instagram?

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Has Meghan returned to Instagram?

The Instagram page is named simply “meghan,” has a picture of pink peonies, reportedly Meghan Markle's favorite flowers. And so, if the Mail on Sunday’s reporting is accurate, the stage is set: Meghan’s return to Instagram is nigh. A source close to her team told the paper: “Yes, that's her. Expect an announcement very soon. She's coming back.”

The mysterious, currently post-less account, already has 86,000 followers. A source told the Mail: “Everyone in Hollywood is talking about the re-launch being imminent. Meghan has never made any secret of the fact she wants to return to Instagram.”

Meghan and Prince Harry wound up their SussexRoyal Instagram account in 2020, having departed their roles as senior royals. Meghan told the Cut last year: “Do you want to know a secret? I'm getting back… on Instagram.” Up until her royal marriage Meghan also oversaw lifestyle blog The Tig. While Meghan enjoyed sharing her life with people, she loved Harry more, she told the magazine. “It was a big adjustment—a huge adjustment to go from that kind of autonomy to a different life,” she said.

If true, the return of Meghan to Instagram would be another sign of her determination to return to the public eye, forging a professional identity independent of Harry—as he reportedly prepares to return to London, sans Meghan, to make a charity speech the day before the anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death.

Eric Schiffer, a social media expert told the Mail: “I don't think Meghan coming back to Instagram will surprise anyone. She has a new talent manager and this is the next logical step. I would expect her to quickly become one of the most followed accounts on Instagram. You have celebrities like the Kardashians who can command $1 million and up for a single post promoting a product. There is no reason Meghan couldn't be earning those sorts of fees. She has to be careful, as a duchess, to avoid being seen to be hawking every product under the sun. She will align with quality brands and companies that are on point with her political and social beliefs.”

The Mail reported last month that Meghan’s signing with Ari Emanuel at WME made it clear she is “still pursuing creative and commercial opportunities,” while Harry “is said to be gravitating back to charity and campaigning work, planning a return to Africa to film a documentary following in the footsteps of his mother.”

Meghan was, the paper said, eyeing “a string of commercial endorsements in fields meaningful to her, such as food, wellness, fashion and therapy” and “a book, most likely with a feminist angle.”

From one supermom to another

Meghan Markle’s mom, Doria Ragland, has largely stayed out of the limelight since her daughter became arguably the most famous woman on the planet. However, the Mail reported, last night she stepped out—looking pretty damn fantastic in yellow and pink—at a high-profile charity event in Los Angeles, and was photographed with legendary Kardashian “momager” Kris Jenner and her daughter Kim.

Also attending the fundraiser for This Is About Humanity was Jeff Bezos. The charity is dedicated to raising awareness about separated and reunified families and children at the U.S.-Mexico border.

William and Kate urged to reconsider ‘12 or 13 weeks’ vacation

We know Europeans like their holidays, but is this getting a bit ridiculous? The Daily Express’ royal correspondent Richard Palmer has pointed out that William and Kate have taken “12 or 13 weeks” off this summer. Speaking on the podcast Royal Round Up, Palmer said that although he didn’t doubt they may have been doing some work “behind the scenes”, the couple have had a “long, long time off” with their three children.

He said: “They’re very popular, they’re a huge asset to the U.K., but there have been eyebrows raised in other parts of the royal household about the amount of time they’re not doing official engagements.

"It may well be that they come under a little bit of pressure to up their number of engagements…There aren’t many families where both the father and mother are able to have 12 or 13 weeks with their children on all of their school breaks. I think there’s an awful lot of goodwill towards them but they do need to keep an eye on that.”

The Royalist’s prediction: Kate and William will continue to take extended summer breaks from official duties until their children are grown. They don’t care too much what their critics say at this stage—and consider raising the next generation of royals to be as well-balanced individuals as possible to be their top priority. Plus, precedent is on their side; the late Queen Elizabeth used to take months off at a time in the summer as well.

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Nothing to see here

Norman Baker, the former British government minister who has long been a prime advocate for greater transparency in the royal finances, had a door slammed in his face this week, when Britain’s Metropolitan Police announced that they were not pursuing a corruption enquiry triggered by the publication of a letter from Michael Fawcett, Prince Charles’s former right-hand man, to a Saudi billionaire linking honors and other assistance in return for cold hard cash.

Baker has an excoriating piece in the London Sunday Times today in which he lays out the disgraceful way that the police have refused to investigate the case, despite the evidence that such investigation should take place.

Of course, anybody who has observed the royals interactions with the police over the years always knew the prospect of the police launching any serious investigation into the king was vanishingly unlikely, but Michael Fawcett has certainly dodged a bullet.

There was a perception that he had been thrown under the bus by the royals when he resigned from his job running the Prince’s Foundation after the letter was published, but maybe he knew all along that the actual wheels of the bus would avoid him, with damage conveniently limited by the fact that that the police slipped out the announcement they were canning their enquiries on Monday, when media was focused on the sentencing of serial killer nurse, Lucy Letby. A good day to bury any bad news, indeed.

What remains to be seen now is whether Fawcett will make a return to royal service, a subject The Daily Beast explored this week. Despite conflicting reports, some insiders clearly believe it is a real possibility.

Sting of the Wasp

Prince Harry famously described, in his memoir, King Charles’ private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, as “The Wasp,” saying that if you annoyed him you’d be be “put on his list.” Harry said that, “A short time later, without warning, he’d give you such a stab, with his outsize stinger that you’d cry out in pain and confusion, ‘Where the fuck did that come from?’”

Alderton—who was not name by Harry but was identified by the Times’ royal correspondent Valentine Low as The Wasp—is said not to have been entirely displeased with the characterization.

Whether or not The Wasp was behind a strike this week on former government minister—Home Secretary no less—Priti Patel is unconfirmed, but Patel has certainly been stung after an unwise interaction with Alderon.

She was forced to issue a groveling apology to Charles this week for causing “embarrassment and difficulties,” after writing a letter to Ravec—the body tasked with deciding which individuals should get what level of royal protection—urging it to review Prince Andrew’s protection. Andrew no longer gets taxpayer funded protection, but has been lobbying to get it back, and appears to have recruited Patel to his cause.

Patel wrote to Alderton, suggesting that Andrew’s case should be reviewed, an email that was promptly leaked to the Sun.

After Patel’s email to Alderton was leaked, she told the Sun: “It is disappointing that this correspondence has been leaked into the public domain and I apologize to His Majesty for the embarrassment and difficulties the publishing of this correspondence has caused.”

According to the Telegraph, one source, described as being “familiar with the situation,” said: “It is outrageous that an email sent in confidence about sensitive security matters should be leaked less than a week after it was written. All she did was suggest that decisions made by Ravec about the security arrangements for high-profile individuals should have proper political accountability and be kept under review.

“Dame Priti has been thrown under a bus for simply raising a matter of process. Is she not entitled to express her view?...This leak could only have come from an official inside the palace, the Home Office or Ravec to warn off anyone – including the former home secretary – from asking serious questions about security policy. And this from the people employed to keep us and the Royal family safe? They should be ashamed.”

Alderton, the Telegraph has previously claimed, is a member of the secretive Ravec committee.

This week in royal history

On August 28, 1996 Prince Charles and Princess Diana were officially divorced; while on August 31, 1989 Princess Anne officially separated from first husband Captain Mark Phililps.

Unanswered questions

Is “meghan” back on Instagram, and if so will it become a moneyspinner for her? Will Michael Fawcett ever return to royal service?