Meghan Markle made her return to Instagram with a charming video featuring a relatable “oops” moment.
On New Year’s Day, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, shared her first Instagram post in years, under the account @meghan, with a video captured by Prince Harry. PEOPLE understands the footage was filmed at a public beach near their Montecito, California home. In the clip, Meghan runs barefoot along the shore, writes “2025” in the sand with her finger, laughs at the camera, and jogs out of the frame. While the Duchess is known for her impeccable penmanship (having worked as a calligrapher), a closer look reveals she practiced her handwriting for the perfect shot.
The video begins with Meghan running toward the ocean in a white top and jeans, where another “2025” is visible in the sand to her left. This subtle detail suggests she had attempted multiple takes to get the new year written out just right.
Meghan Markle/Instagram
PEOPLE understands that the Duchess of Sussex is excited to return to social media as a way to reconnect with communities worldwide and share updates about the projects she’s working on, eager to lead by example in using social media to spark joy and positive connection.
Meghan logged back on to social media by using her first name as her verified Instagram handle, and a click into the “About this account” tab showed that it was created in June 2022. The Instagram page came complete with a new picture of the Duchess of Sussex as its profile icon, and the black-and-white snap was by photographer Jake Rosenberg.
Meghan Markle/Instagram
Rosenberg posted Meghan’s portrait to his own Instagram page on Jan. 1, and wrote below it, “Welcome back @Meghan! Always love capturing these moments together – What a way to start the year!”
Some of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s friends wrote below it, with polo player Nacho Figueras dropping a raised-hands emoji and makeup artist Daniel Martin commenting three red hearts.
Meghan’s return to Instagram was unannounced, and fans previously followed her online with an Instagram account under her own name, as well as lifestyle blog The Tig. The Duchess of Sussex ran the blog while starring on the hit legal drama Suits, and shuttered the page in April 2017, a few months before she and Harry got engaged. Meghan deleted her social media pages the following January, and married Harry that May.
Meghan Markle/Instagram
In April 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan joined Instagram with the handle @SussexRoyal, using the profile to highlight their royal work with a personal feel. It was among the first steps in establishing a separate office from Prince William and Kate Middleton.
SussexRoyal stopped being updated after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020, and the couple has been offline from social media since.
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Prince Harry and Meghan settled in her home state of California that summer, and have made their home in Montecito with their children Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Cut in 2022, Meghan teased a return to social media.
“Do you want to know a secret?” the Duchess of Sussex said then. “I’m getting back… on Instagram.”
Though Prince Harry and Meghan maintain websites for their Sussex office and charitable Archewell Foundation, it’s a full-circle moment for her to rejoin social media.
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