Kim Kardashian Deletes Meghan’s Photo on Instagram — and People Can’t Stop Asking Why

Few things entertain the internet more than spotting and decoding celebrity Instagram posts, especially the ones that have Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in them. And with that comes scrutiny. This week, Kim Kardashian gave fans just such a mystery when eagle-eyed followers noticed a familiar royal face had quietly vanished from her latest photo dump. The reality mogul’s glossy carousel celebrating Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday had originally included a surprise cameo, Markle and Harry. The Duchess of Sussex, 44, appeared alongside Kardashian, 45, in a smiling photo, Kardashian in a sleek purple gown, Markle in a simple black turtleneck dress, and, just behind them, Harry in a tuxedo, chatting with another guest.

But for the keen-eyed observers, it was a blink-and-you-will-miss-it moment. Not long after Kardashian uploaded the post on November 10, the photo of Markle and Harry was gone without explanation. The rest of the album remained intact, Kardashian’s affectionate shots with Kris, her sisters, and her All’s Fair co-stars, plus cameos from Paris and Nicky Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Justin Bieber, Ciara, and party hosts Jeff and Lauren Bezos. And a similar pattern was noticed with Kris Jenner's posts, too. She had posted a picture alongside the Prince and his wife, but deleted it later.  

The deletion, unsurprisingly, sent Reddit and royal-watch corners of the internet into overdrive. One user suggested the removal was all about optics, “Can understand why Kris would take ‘em down — am sure the comments were brutal. And who wants nasty comments when the party was a big success?”Others took a more personal route, insisting Meghan herself had intervened. “Meg asked her to take them down because the pic showed her potbelly,” one commenter speculated bluntly. Another chimed in, “If KK took the photo down, it’s because she wanted to. She gave Meghan her five minutes and then deleted.”

As with most royal-adjacent controversies, the explanations kept multiplying. “Already getting backlash & need to protect their brand is my guess,” another fan wrote. “They’re pulling everything before the Markle.” Others pointed out that the image might not have been an intentional group pose at all but just a snap caught mid-conversation. “Madame looks less than happy,” one Redditor joked. “Someone took a photo of them getting a photo — not quite the same thing as having the face-on shot posted to Kim’s Insta, is it?”

On another Reddit thread where the deleted photos resurfaced, users were quick to weigh in on Meghan Markle’s outfit, and not everyone was impressed. One commenter wrote, “With all the stylists in the world available to her, Meghan chose that…?”Another user chimed in more harshly, joking, “Damn, it’s bad when the Kardashians don’t even want to be seen with you.” Still, not everyone joined the pile-on. Some came to the Duke and Duchess’s defense, questioning the outrage altogether. “Why exactly are people angry that H&M went to a party? I don’t get it,” one user asked. “Are people hating on Adele, Naomi Watts, Sarah Paulson, Rita Wilson, Chris Rock, etc., too? I don’t understand why they shouldn’t attend a huge celeb party.”