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First we were treated to rare footage of Prince Louis playing cricket on the beach, then – in celebration of Prince William and Kate’s 15th wedding anniversary – we got the whole Wales clan giggling as they lay together on a verdant patch of grass during their Easter holiday in Cornwall.
The photo – taken by Matt Porteous and released by the Prince and Princess of Wales on April 29 – was notable for a few reasons – not least because it was particularly casual, showing all five family members barefoot and in t-shirts.
Of course, social media reacted.
“The Meghan Markle effect in full swing,” one royal watcher declared.
“So it’s OK for these people to go barefoot, but not Harry, Meghan, or their children?”
To give context to these comments, it’s worth remembering that Kate’s estranged sister-in-law Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex regularly goes barefoot – as do her children Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four – and she has come under scrutiny for doing so.
It’s a habit that Meghan memorably told her friend Courtney Adamo, “demystifies”.
“People walk in and go, ‘Oh, she’s in this with me’…and suddenly everyone’s a little bit softened,” the Duchess claimed.
Meghan also famously declared she was barefoot when she first met Kate for the first time – making a pointed dig about the moment in her 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan.
“Even when Will and Kate came over, and I had met her for the first time, they came over for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans, and I was barefoot,” Meghan said.
“Like, I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”
But the new photo of Kate and William certainly gives the impression that they are not as formal in family situations as Meghan portrayed.
For in the snap released by the pair, Princess Charlotte, who turns 11 on May 2, was wearing trendy ice-blue nail polish – a detail that perhaps raises eyebrows for those more used to seeing royals donning formal attire for such occasions.
And in an added twist, while Charlotte, 10, and her siblings Prince George, 12, and Prince Louis, eight, were snapped enjoying time with their parents on a family holiday, it’s been claimed that over in Montecito, California, Meghan is angling to release a more formal portrait of Archie for his own seventh birthday on May 6.
It’s something that Harry is reportedly not fully on-board with.
“Meghan feels the timing is perfect to put out an official set of pictures for his birthday, especially with the recent launch of her Archie-inspired candle,” a source tells Woman’s Day.
While the source claimed that for years the duo had had formal photos taken of the kids, they have never been shared with the public. Rather, fans have been given increasing glimpses of the children on social media, where only parts of their faces are visible.
“Harry’s not convinced her reasons are enough to put Archie at risk, not just having his face plastered all over the world in seconds, but the trolls and the bullying he’s going to face,” the insider continues. “Harry knows from bitter experience how a childhood in the spotlight can change your life and not always for the better.”
The source claimed it was an “ongoing tug of war for the Sussexes” over how much of Archie and Lilibet’s lives should remain private.
“It’s hard for Meghan to see her kids’ cousins have all the fun while her two have to be protected at all costs because of security,” the source goes on.
“Harry’s other concern is that Meghan keeps pushing her luck with her branding and using Archie and Lilibet, who are in line to the throne, is dangerous.
“She’s putting them all, even Archie and Lilibet, at risk of losing their titles if the lines keep blurring between royalty and making money. The whole situation is a melting pot waiting to happen.”
