day Times recently alleged that Harry and Meghan are stepping away from social media altogether, but the couple were previously noted for using platforms such as Instagram informally, compared to other royals. Prince William and Kate Middleton are thought to have followed their lead, making similar changes to their own social media accounts.
According to Vanity Fair: “As much as Meghan faced criticism from the British press for her use of social media and relationship with the press, the remaining royals seemed to be following her lead, from changing the names on their social media profiles to sharing personal, heartfelt messages throughout the national lockdown.”
Historically, social media accounts shared by the royals had posts “written in the third person” and typically featured photos that media outlets had already released.
However, royal observers said this changed when Harry and Meghan departed Kensington Palace for Frogmore Cottage in Windsor and started their own @SussexRoyal account.
On it, Harry and Meghan posted exclusive photos and often became the first source of information for events such as the birth of their son Archie.
It was also the platform the Sussexes used to announce they would be stepping down as senior royals last year.
In addition, Vanity Fair analyst Erin Vanderhoof notes the photo captions posted on the account struck a “less formal tone and were occasionally signed by Meghan or Harry”.
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However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have now taken a different route altogether by allegedly stepping back completely from social media platforms.
day Times reported the two would no longer be using platforms like Twitter, and cited a source as saying they were “very unlikely” to use social media in a personal way.
It is understood the couple made the decision to abandon social media because of the hate they received online.
Last year, Meghan referred to the amount of abuse she received on the internet as “almost unsurvivable”.
She said on an episode of the Teenager Therapy podcast in October: “I’m told that in 2019, I was the most trolled person in the entire world, male or female.”
Meghan and Harry have proved to be popular on social media, with their @SussexRoyal Instagram account gaining over one million follows in less than six hours in 2019.
However, the couple have stopped using the royal account since stepping back from their royal duties.
They currently live in California, where they are focusing on their various media production deals and charitable projects.
