The video, shared on Saturday, January 17, on Meghan’s Instagram, featured the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and immediately sparked accusations that Meghan was attempting to “manufacture authenticity” after months of similar online criticism.
“I think MM is trying to sell ‘authenticity’ since so much of the criticism she receives is that she/they aren’t authentic,” one social media user reacted.
Viral Throwback Video Sparks Suspicion
In the now-viral post, Meghan Markle shared a romantic black-and-white clip of herself and Prince Harry dancing barefoot on their lawn on a bright, sunny day. The video was set to Olivia Dean’s 2025 song So Easy (To Fall in Love).
The footage showed the couple kissing, with Harry playfully lifting Meghan toward the end of the clip.
Meghan also included a photo from her and Harry’s 2016 trip to Botswana, which the couple have previously described as their third official date.
The post was part of a popular 2016 nostalgia trend on social media, referencing the year the couple first began dating nearly a decade ago. Prince Harry and Meghan famously met in July 2016 on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend at Soho House’s Dean Street Townhouse in London.
Meghan captioned the post, “When 2026 feels just like 2016… you had to be there.”
The ‘Cred: Our Daughter’ Controversy
What unsettled many viewers was the caption’s final line: “cred: our daughter,” suggesting that Princess Lilibet, aged four, filmed the video.
Skeptics quickly questioned the steadiness and polished look of the footage, with many arguing that it appeared far too professional to have been recorded by a young child.
“Notice how they always hide behind a ‘child detail’ to disarm criticism. It’s not wholesome, it’s strategic,” one angry commenter wrote.
Another critic posted on X, “There’s no way in one million years that their four-year-old is taking a video, when I was four-years-old I was playing with dolls, not recording my parents dancing with each other.”
User @XOQueenEsther added, “A four year old does not film like an adult… A four year old filming a video is usually chaotic. The camera shakes. The framing is random. Someone’s head gets cut off. There is movement, sudden tilting, giggling, wandering, fingers covering the lens, accidental zooming…”
“What we got instead looked steady, controlled, and perfectly placed. Not ‘kid with a phone for five seconds’ energy. More like ‘adult set the phone/camera & pressed record’ energy.”
Accusations of ‘Manufactured Intimacy’
One user went further, calling the post a “lie” and arguing that Meghan “did not need to mention who filmed it at all,” but did so to make the moment “feel intimate and authentic.”
“Saying the child filmed it attempts to do three things at once. First, it sells innocence. It makes the moment sound spontaneous and family warm. Second, it shields it from criticism… Third, it forces the audience to picture the child witnessing the whole performance, which is exactly the emotional hook they want.”
The same critic later doubled down, writing, “A 4 year old doesn’t film like a trained cameraman with zero wobble. That was propped up on something, tripod or shelf, and they still had to toss in the ‘Lili took it’ lie for the fake wholesome points. Clowns.”
Comparisons to Princess Catherine
Meghan’s decision to credit her daughter also prompted comparisons with her sister-in-law, Princess Catherine of Wales. In February last year, Catherine shared a ‘Mother Nature’ image for World Cancer Day and credited her then seven-year-old son, Prince Louis, with taking the photo.
The Sussexes’ video was labeled “cringe” and “awkward” by some, with critics drawing parallels between the two posts.
“Because Catherine shared a photo taken by Louis, so of course Meghan had to try to one up it by claiming Lili filmed the video,” one suspicious commenter claimed.
Another added, “Let’s face it the only reason she has the credit for the kid filming it is because C [Catherine] credited her son for her photo.”
“They hate each other. It is hard to feign romantic when you would rather be anywhere else.”
Ongoing Backlash and PR Troubles
As criticism intensified over the weekend, Meghan reposted the same dancing clip to her Instagram Story on Saturday, January 18.
The renewed backlash comes amid what many online observers have described as a “bad PR year” for the Sussexes. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently topped Ranker’s list of the most disliked celebrities of 2025, with Meghan ranking at No. 1.
The couple also lost several key staff members last year, including chief communications officer Meredith Maines. Reports suggest that at least 11 publicists or senior communications professionals have left their employment since the couple moved to the U.S. in 2020.
According to reports, Meghan has since rehired the PR firm Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis (SSML) to oversee her publicity, the same firm she worked with during her acting career.
