Meghan Markle Makes Cheeky Toast to Prince Harry on His US Return — and Royal Fans Are Unimpressed
On September 13, Prince Harry returned to the US after a week-long trip to the UK and Ukraine. As Meghan Markle awaited her husband’s return, she couldn’t contain her joy when he finally reunited with her and their two children. She marked the moment with a post on her As Ever brand’s Instagram, sharing a picture of her pouring wine into two glasses. She cheekily captioned the same, "When your beau is back in town…" However, royal fans were unimpressed, with many pointing out her perfectly timed self-promotion tactics.
The picture, posted on September 14, featured two wine glasses, indicating that she was enjoying some quality time with the Duke in a picnic setting. While her post may have been in good spirits, royal watchers felt she cleverly timed the promotion of her lifestyle brand around Harry’s most talked-about moment. The Duke’s recent UK trip had made headlines, given his long-awaited reunion with King Charles after 19 months. This, critics argued, gave Markle the perfect chance to use his return to her advantage and spotlight her brand.
On X (formerly Twitter), a netizen slammed, "Harry is just a brand prop for Markle’s pathetic business. Nothing more. And she called him her ‘beau’ — did they not marry?!" In a similar vein, another argued, "Can’t stand Harry getting press without her. She had to post pics of herself and have stories of herself while Harry was getting his own press."
Markle’s celebratory post isn't the only incident where she has received backlash for using her family to promote her business. As part of her promo activities for her lifestyle show, With Love Meghan, on September 2, she posted pictures of her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, enjoying themselves at the Netflix set. Chiming in on the same, royal expert Hugi Vickers told The Sun, "He [Harry] ought to be extremely annoyed. Obviously, I don't know what he thinks, but I think he does what he's told, probably." He also expressed concern for the kids, saying, "What worries me much more, to be quite honest, is what the children themselves are going to think when they get a little bit older and they realize how they've been exploited."
As for Harry’s UK trip, he became the talk of the town when he met with Charles for ‘private tea’ at Clarence House, ending their long-standing rift. The Prince was seen arriving by car at Clarence House at 5:20 pm and left the residence after an hour. A day before his US return, he also made a surprise appearance in Ukraine to meet with veterans for his Invictus Games Foundation.