MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry have bowed out of their roles as senior royals with a glittering final UK tour last week.
And it seems their final engagements were a resounding success as their Instagram account has skyrocketed and hit 11.3million followers – catching up again with the Cambridges’ page.
Meghan and Prince Harry’s SussexRoyal Instagram account has reached 11.3million followers in the past few days
Just days before their final engagement at the Commonwealth Service, the couple’s SussexRoyal page levelled in followers with the KensingtonRoyal account.
This followed the Instagram account slipping behind the Cambridge account last month, after initially overtaking in January.
The Sussexes’ online surge came after the stylish couple stepped out at the Endeavour Awards, the Mountbatten Festival of Music and Commonwealth Day Service.
They also hosted a tearful farewell lunch for their staff in London, before flying back to Canada to be reunited with their nine-month-old son Archie.
The SussexRoyal account has reached the same amount of followers as the KensingtonRoyal one
The Sussexes’ online surge came after the stylish couple stepped out for their final engagements
As of March 29, the couple will not use their HRH titles, and will aim to become financially independent from the royal family splitting their time between the UK and North America.
Despite Meghan, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, launching their page in April 2019, their Instagram has been a record-breaking success.
It became the fastest account to reach one million followers in less than six hours, Guinness World Records confirmed.
The Instagram account has seen a surge in popularity as the couple prepare for their new royal life
This was later beaten by Jennifer Aniston who reached a million followers in five hours 45 minutes, when she joined the site in October.
The SussexRoyal page has posted 185 times, compared to Kate, 38, and Prince William, 37, having uploaded over 2,034 posts.
Meghan and Harry’s page follows just one Instagram account each month, aiming to shine a spotlight on charit
The SussexRoyal account is now just behind the page belonging to Kate and Will
Kate and William’s page remains the most popular royal account – but only just
Brand expert Ronn Torossian, CEO of PR firm 5W Public Relations, told Fabulous Digital that the popularity shows the huge loss the Sussexes are to the royal family.
He told Fabulous: “While some may not think social following among royals means much, it can be extremely telling of public perceptions.
“This could mean that the public is getting over being upset about the departure, and are now curious about what comes next.
“They are carving out a new brand for themselves, and with the increased freedom that comes along with no longer being official royals, it would not be shocking if the Sussexes become more popular that the Kensingtons, albeit in a different way.
“While the Sussexes are clearly on a different path than the Kensingtons, this is another proof point that the royal family has undergone a great loss with Meghan and Harry stepping down – they were, in many ways, the future of the royal ‘brand.’”
Unsurprisingly, baby son Archie dominated the SussexRoyal’s top nine most liked pictures from 2019.
Ranking as the most popular of all among royal fans – with 3m ‘likes’ – was a black and white photo of the couple taking Archie to meet great-grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip, alongside grandmother Doria Ragland.
This was closely followed by a post the couple had shared days before announcing the birth of their son, which garnered 2.9m ‘likes’.
We shared how Kate Middleton has taken Prince Harry and Meghan’s exit from the Royal Family ‘badly’, royal expert claims.
And Meghan was ‘too good’ for the monarchy and ‘a smiling face in the dull institution’ says Hilary Mantel.
