A hidden detail in Meghan Markle’s anniversary post raised speculation of a royal reunion.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, took to Instagram on Wednesday, May 19, to celebrate eight years since she married Prince Harry.
While most of the photographs just featured her and Harry, eagle-eyed fans noticed that King Charles subtly featured in one shot.
A black-and-white photograph of Meghan entering Windsor Castle also featured Charles, moments before he walked Meghan down the aisle.
It is a rare inclusion of the Royal Family in her social media posts, and with Harry also voicing his desire for a family reunion, is this a telling olive branch?
New Idea exclusively spoke to crisis communications expert Sally Branson, who weighed in on whether she thinks it’s a peace offering, or a more strategic move.
“Sharing wedding photographs on an anniversary is an entirely ordinary thing to do,” she tells us.
“Most people with a camera roll and a social media account do exactly that, and nobody reads anything into it. When the wedding in question was held at Windsor Castle, and the photographs are genuinely extraordinary, the impulse becomes even more understandable.”
She adds that the image of Charles on the surface seems “unremarkable”, but alongside the context of an impending UK visit for Harry and Meghan, it may hold a larger meaning, noting, “In communications, timing is rarely incidental.”
“Meghan understands how communications works. She knows that what you show, when you show it, and how you frame it all matters. That is a real skill,” she says.
“The problem is that you can see her doing it. Good communications strategy works precisely because the audience does not notice it is strategy.”
“When people can see the intention behind the move, the move stops working. It creates the opposite impression to the one intended.”
She cites recent reports claiming Meghan has used the “HRH” title on private correspondence, igniting chatter about her royal branding after she and Harry stepped down as senior royals.
“The HRH issue is a clear example. Signing products with a title she had publicly walked away from did not read as authoritative,” Sally continues.
“It read as someone trying to hold onto something while simultaneously claiming they had let it go. The contradiction was too obvious, and it overshadowed everything else.”
Sally compares this to the decision to feature Charles in her anniversary post at the same time that rumours are swirling that she is expected to visit the UK in the coming months.
“The anniversary post risks the same outcome,” she adds.
“Any one element of it is completely reasonable. But when you place it alongside a quiet UK visit in the same week, at a moment when the public is already asking questions about where things stand between the Sussexes and the Palace, it starts to look like a calculated move rather than a personal one.
“The standard she has not yet met is a simple one: the best communications does not look like communications at all. It just looks like life.”
Meghan is expected to visit the UK in an official capacity for the first time in four years for an Invictus Games event in the coming months, though nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
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