I love how we’ve just accepted the fact that the Duchess of Sussex operates the SussexRoyal Instagram. I’m sure the communications team has the password too, and they’re working with Meghan on most of what is posted on the official Insta, but let’s also be clear: I’m convinced that Meghan is the one doing the most for the IG. Sunday was Mother’s Day in the US (and Canada, Australia, and many other countries), so Meghan decided to celebrate by posting a lovely shot of Baby Archie’s feet and her hand.
You can read the message above – “Paying tribute to all mothers today – past, present, mothers-to-be, and those lost but forever remembered.” The background of the photo seems to be Forget-Me-Nots, Princess Diana’s favorite flower and Sentebale (one of Harry’s signature charities) means forget-me-not in Sesotho. The shot was apparently taken in the garden of Frogmore Cottage, where Harry and Meghan apparently planted the flowers in honor of his mom. And now… on what used to be a day where Harry would think about his mother’s life and death, he’s now got a new baby boy and he can celebrate his wife while still remembering his mom. It’s very beautiful and full-circle.
Meghan reportedly spent Mother’s Day at Frogmore Cottage with her husband, her mom Doria Ragland, and Baby Archie. Incidentally, CB brought up the idea that Meg would do one of these “hands and/or feet” photos in our Gossip With Celebitchy podcast several weeks ago (that’s at about 19:30), but we talked about the idea that the “feet” photo could be the first photo. I’m fine with this because we’ve already gotten to see Archie’s face!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
This made me tear up yesterday. What a touching photo. LOVE it. I really love how they’re handling their instagram account.
Same!!! I am also quietly tracking their followers, too. For a while, Kensington Royal was growing at a similar-ish pace (I mean, they received around 1.2 million more followers since the Sussex Royal instagram was started). They were pretty steadily at 1 million more for the last few weeks and as Sussex grew so did Kensington. But now… Sussex is catching up!
I really hope the Sussex instagram rivals “actual” celebrities in followers. Like, Khloe Kardashian has nearly 100 million followers. I’m hoping Sussex hits at *least* 10 million…but the more content they create, the more people are going to want to follow!
I thought whoever took the photo could have done better. There are so many hand wrinkles I can’t even tell what I am looking at! Is that hand-flesh, or Archie’s leg? Other than the toes and the flowers it’s a mess.
Hand wrinkles? That is such a weird thing to complain about.
Ummm…her hand is curled around his feet so there are wrinkles. Try this exercise:
1. Turn your hand to face up.
2. Curl your fingers and palm of your hand in like you’re holding a ball.
3. Oh look! Wrinkles!
It would be totally weird if there were no wrinkles when she curls her hand. LOL
That’s because Megan’s a 100 year old crone who has tricked poor Harry into thinking she’s 37. Which is why she needed a surrogate to give birth to her baby. Two weeks ago.
If you can’t tell what is a baby leg and what is a hand I’m sorry to say you need glasses. Also, what a strange thing to complain about. Are you telling us your hand is completely smooth and without any wrinkles?
Hand wrinkles???
Very nice.
It is such a simple and beautiful picture.
I’m just obsessed with the composition of this photo. Is someone holding Archie over their head? Is Meghan standing under said person? These are the pressing questions I need answered!
The baby dangling element is intriguing to me as well… checking back for answers. Don’t let us down, internet!
Harry or her mom took the picture? That seems like the obvious answer to me, not sure why it’s an issue
Caity, nobody is shading. It’s not “an issue” as in something bad. We’re just curious, because that kid is way up in what I’m calling a “reverse lion king.” Nobody is disparaging anyone…we’re just curious how it was shot.
P.S.: This pic has to be a three-person operation! lol. 🙂
I just assumed Harry or her mother held the baby, she cuped the feet and took the photo.
My thought is that this was taken the same day as the official photo shoot and the white cloth you can see behind/under her hand is the skirt of her trench dress. I think Meghan is standing holding Archie against her belly area (Archie’s head in her left arm, feet in right) and Harry (or whoever took photo) is doing something like standing over her right shoulder or next to her on the right (maybe on a bench or step stool?) to take the photo. That was my first thought anyway. I don’t see how he’d be dangling or held above her head.
RoyalWatcher
Oh I think you’re right! On how the photo was shot. I see the dress now.
Archie is fully supported here.
I think she is sitting in what I pictured is a small white wrought iron chair (just the image in my head) with baby on lap and her legs bent back under the seat of chair, possibly they are crossed. I think she has Archie forward a bit on her lap to get the flowers into the picture. It is a sweet pic.
Royal Watcher, this was my assumption too. The shot was obviously taken over her right shoulder. The composition of the shot is gorgeous, and I’m guessing the wedding photographer, Lipinski is the one taking it. It looks like his style. I believe that Lipinski went back to the cottage and took several photos of Archie and the family that may or may not be released.
That blue stuff in the photo is flowers, NOT sky!
So he is being supported and the shot is taken downward.
An upward shot at a few days old would be insane.
Ahhhhh, thats FLOWERS!?!? Ach man it looks like sky!! No wonder I was so confused 😛
Ahhhh! Bingo!!!! I thought the blue was sky!
Thank-you, LaraK! Hahaha…. I thought it was sky too.
I can’t stop giggling about this. Cause, like, I stan hard for House Sussex, but for a good hour, I was side-eyeing you all something fierce, thinking: Damn, what are these bitches smoking!? I’m team Sussex, but we can’t let them go dangling babies from great heights with nary a word…come on, people!! Even I can see that it’s gone too far!!
Alas, it was I experiencing the residual effects of last night’s vape.
LOL! Of course they’re flowers!! lololol!! But all I saw was sky until you pointed it out!!
She’s cradling him in her left arm and cupping his feet with her right hand. Not mysterious. It looks like a pro photo. I assume they had Chris Allerton take some private photos while he was there to capture the public ones. Most people these days do a small photo shoot with their newborn when they’re a few days old. And if you’re already getting dressed and having hair and makeup done, and a professional photographer is coming to you, may as well have him take some private shots for the family as well. I’m sure a few of them will be shared over the next couple of months, and probably one will be a piano background photo in HM’s Christmass address.
Makes sense, if the photographer is already there…But, interestingly, Chris Allerton is specifically credited with the presentation shot to the public, and the group shot with HM, etc., but this shot is no attribution, just copyright Sussex Royal.
Was thinking (below) that maybe Harry took it, but do agree it’s more of a pro shot/composition. Curious why they wouldn’t do an attribution though, for something so lovely.
Must be another conspiracy! /s
Harry is a gifted photographer and this looks like it was taken on an iphone so I thikn it was Harry.
@windyriver I’m sure they bought the copyright to the private images. Otherwise the photographer would be able to publish them. There’s no indication of who took the photo, but there is a copyright @sussexroyal. So I assume they bought the rights to the private photos so they can do what they want with them.
Try turning g the picture sideways
I can only imagine what Meghan was thinking when Jason et al at KP were doing the instagram posts. Like wtf? I can do this so much better than you. She has great communication skills and might as well put them to good use to promote her charities and the Sussex brand.
I dunno, I think this is very basic. Isn’t this the equivalent of instagramming avocado on toast at this point, ie slightly cringe and basic? Every low tier influencer ever really.
But why does she need to be innovative when taking a picture of her child? The pictures of the Cambridge kids are all fairly basic as well but I don’t expect anything else.
They’re being “just like us.”
can y’all just go away? wtf.
Basic, low tier influncers wouldn’t carefully list all the countries celebrating mother’s day or quote poetry from Waheed. Or perfectly frame the shot so everyone subtly sees and notes the flowers which connect to Diana without being told.
It’s pretty well crafted.
mynameispearl – interesting that you felt that way about posting the photo. Do you think the official instagram account should just business or more traditional? I welcome your thoughts.
@mynameispearl , Yes it is. This is the equivalent of snail mailing generic birth announcements.
A new mother and her days-old child, paying tribute to the grandmother her baby will never meet, is not “basic”.
There is nothing “basic” about a new parent, a new life, a new family. They’re all wonderful, life-affirming, and beautiful.
Everything doesn’t have to be a spectacle.
Like the Cambs family picts aren’t exactly like what you see from every single family friend come Christmas time. That’s basic af.
It’s a lovely and tasteful way to honour mothers everywhere on Mother’s Day, especially Harry’s late mother. Why do you people insist on turning something so sweet and sincere into an insult?
Lots of sour grapes in the comments. Same is happening with the royal reporters who have been terrible to Meghan and have found themselves shut out.
No no, I think its a very nice picture, my friends and I post similar types of things all the time (and Kate’s cute kid pics are equally nice and basic), its just the OP stated it was great PR skills or whatever and I was just thinking… really?
Ah I see what you mean mynameispearl. I was talking in more general terms about the sussexroyal account and not this post in particular. I don’t follow many instagram posters so I don’t really know what’s common or basic tbh. If you’re posting in a style that is common to what others do doesn’t that make you more relatable? I still would argue that Meghan has really good pr skills and that the royal staffers aren’t as adept at modern media as they should be.
Maybe that’s true, the Royals are a funny thing though, they want to be relatable, but the reason people are into them is kind of because they’re so unrelatable to the general population. They’re a fascinating oddity, that’s why I don’t get why they try so hard to pretend to be normal, nothing about their situation is normal. They are a bizarre family and it’s a bizarre elitist situation they live in.
I’m from N.Ireland and am from the other side of the fence when it comes to being a monarachist 😜😂 They’re just good for gossip as far as I’m concerned, I’d love their entire Royal reign to end with the queen.
She cries for privacy but then posts a picture like that? She should take some tips from Kate if she really wants her “privacy”
I don’t understand any of what you said?
She probably did. Duchess of Cambridge is known for taking staged pictures of her kids and releasing them in intervals. This is a fairly privacy respecting photo. It’s of the baby’s feet and her hand. No one is giving face to a camera or flashing neon lights in the background blinking “me me me pay attention to me!”
From management of social media and public image these ladies are opposites I feel. Speaking to photos they release and nothing staged like pap walks.
Kate posts face shots. It’s her child in a photo. Or her family in traditional poses and settings.
Meghan goes for imagery. Silhouette, details and staying on message in a relatable way.
And there’s enough details to make it feel very personal and thoughtful too.
I love it. The photo on it’s own is beautiful. And with the caption it was an ideal mother’s day post.
But Meghan did it so she must be a total diva using her child for personal gain while crying for everyone to leave her and her family alone, right?😒
Absolutely. It’s really extreme lately. Whatever Kate does is great because she’ll be queen. And whatever Meghan does is evil and diva like because she’s not Kate. My eye muscles are the strongest muscles in my body after all the eye rolling over the last few years.
Kate and Meghan are smart to choose how they release pics of their children to the media. Royal reporters don’t own these children nor do the taxpayers.
🙄
Thanks for coming out, Maddie.
What? This makes no sense, at all.
Hahahahahahaha… Piers Morgan, is that you?
Trolls are starting early this morning.
Yes, Islalund. The trolls have escaped from the Daily Fail.
Just stop. Please. For the love of God. Stop.
You mean publishing 3 or 4 full body pics showing what their kids like to do and how they normally dress? Maybe she did take the advice 😉
Maddie23 – give up. She doesn’t “cry for privacy”. She doesn’t need to take tips from Kate. Go back to commenting on the Daily Fail.
Well, Kate has never put a foot wrong. Mostly because she rarely does anything that would require too much effort.
Kaiser, the Waheed quote was cut off above but was so touching, I read it to my mum yesterday and we both teared up. If you can please complete the quote, as it’s a perfect tribute to Mums everywhere.
Wooowww I remember nayyirah.waheed’s poems from Tumblr years ago. Sis has arrived.
It’s a beautiful photo, probably taken by Harry. I’ve been impressed by his photography skills. This looks in his wheelhouse. The poem is a lovely touch as well. I was hoping they’d do this. Archie doesn’t have to be hidden away to maintain his privacy. Small glimpses of him as he grows up would be appreciated.
Our first Instagram basic royals.
So much that you will take notice and have an opinion on each and every basic photo they post.
@bread are you salty because you aren’t the first basic troll here? I mean Anna is giving you a run for your money as are a couple of others upthread. Please go sip your soy Starbucks somewhere else. #basicisasbasicdoes
I have to go change. It was worth it. Thanks HBIC.
Who sprinkled grouchy dust in your cornflakes bread?
Do…do you even follow the BRF? The uptight, unoriginal group of privileged people who normally bore everyone to tears? H&M are a breath of fresh air and have made the royals relevant for the first time in decades. But H&M are the basic ones. Sure Jan.
It’s tacky. I can’t help it
Go away. A simple Mother’s Day message, and you you all are finding fault.
I will never understand the mind that can think this message is tacky.
A lovely photo. It’s not dull to look it. It’s already sparked composition discussion. And it isn’t “look at me”. It’s modestly sharing a moment and remembering lost ones. When did that become tacky?
But… they can’t help it!
Sometimes they speak the truth without even meaning to!
IMHO: We really need to stop talking about the Daily Fail. (I kno,I just did.) It’s like Betelgeuse! If you say it enuf, they materialize.
@anna: Serious question – what exactly do you believe makes this IG photo tacky?
Didn’t anyone see Gary Janetti’s hilarious IG post of devilish George looking askance at the photo, side by side with a *very* similar (but pink) one by Kykie Jenner? A masterstroke of satire.
How is it tacky? I think it’s lovely.
Boy there are a lot of raw nerve endings posting this morning…did you all get thrown off of other sites?
Seriously, is Royal Dish leaking again?
Those baby feet are delectable!!
I adore baby feet! Archie has a great foot arch, so he should be a good dancer.
I thought this was so sweet. Lovely pic, lovely post.
I can’t decide if this follows the photography rule of thirds or not. I think the baby’s feet needed to be slightly more to the right.
What a lovely composition. I’m here for thoughtful Instagram photos. I think they’re setting the stage for us to look for areas of significance in future photos. We will be conditioned to analyze their pics for hidden meanings.
It does, but it also depends what the subject is meant to be.
Meghan’s hand is at one of the four spots where the dividing lines would intersect. It’s Mother’s Day and, she’s the mother – but I can see your thought about maybe moving the baby’s feet to that spot instead. It’s a choice.
But also – as you imply re: hidden meanings, the way the photo is structured, even thought the forget-me-nots are slightly out of focus, there’s so many they’re almost an equal subject with Meghan’s hand and the baby’s feet. If it’s true they were Diana’s favorite flower, that’s a subtle reminder of her significance, and that she’s there, although in spirit.
Or, maybe they just liked this crop! The photo does seem balanced to me, and I really like it. It’s credited to Sussex Royal, so assume Harry took it.
I thought it was a breathtaking photo because of all the little details. It’s incredibly cute just as-is, but when you start to look at all the little details it’s just so touching.
But I do think that it’s just as possible that they liked the styling of it – and we could be reading into it a bit more than they put thought into. Either way, it’s really sweet.
@Erinn – yes, am possibly thinking more about it than they did!
Photography nerd here, so when @Weaver brought up the question about rule of thirds, I started thinking about what impressed me technically. Have read that Harry is supposedly a pretty good photographer, and assume at least some of the photos in the Earth Day instagram set are his.
This is a fairly sophisticated composition. Never mind where the baby was born – is this photo Harry’s work?
The poem is beautiful and so is the picture.
Babies feet are so cute.Lovely message
The fact that Daenerys burns everything is a logical end
Since she arrived in Westeros, she tries not to be like her father, she helps the North and by helping them she lost two dragons, two of her closest advisers and half of her army. In return she entitled to what to an attempted coup.Everyone would be furious in his place, but the writers of GOT are not George R. R. Martin, so they are unable to translate his feelings.
Other than that there are several things I’ have hate :
– Then Cersei’s death is disappointing,you could not make us hate a character for two seasons, depicting it as the ultimate evil and ultimately and at the ending wanting when is pity on her.
– I have not understood why to kill Varys and not Tyrion, he shows several times that his loyalty will always be for the Lannisters.
– Jaimie’s death for me would have been more logical had he stayed with Cersei until the end.
–
you are definitely in the wrong post.
Too bad wrong post. Otherwise this could add a whole degree of difficulty to royal reporting!
@Heather….it would be nice if Daenerys would light some of these miserable Royal Reporters on fire.
At the risk of being called a troll, I found it to be kind of “influencer mommy blogger” – it reminds me of something you’d see from Veronika or Rach Parcell.
Cute baby feets though!
I thought this was cute and what a nice tribute to Diana with her favorite flower in the background. Mother’s Day is not only a day where Harry has to remember how much he misses his own mother but one he can celebrate with and for his wife.
Anyone complaining needs to relax. Meghan is literally a very new mom who is celebrating her first Mothers day with her own momma. Congrats to her and I hope she had a wonderful day! As did all momma’s and momma figures yesterday!
Also, Asking for Privacy and still wanting to share small things are two very different things. They’re asking that you don’t harass poor baby Archie but they’ll share some stuff with us knowing the interest is there. The kid won’t be locked in a tower until he’s 18.
I hope I’m not the only one noticing that they’re going the Swedish Royals route with Archie. Their children still deal with privacy but the parents sort of pacify the media by releasing pictures and doing with things in public with them. Everyone wins.
I think that it is adorable!
I think the photo is lovely, just like I think the shots Kate takes of her kids are lovely. If the photos looked like they could be in Vogue it would be she’s trying to hard. Neither is better or worse than the other. In terms of this photo being too “influencer-like” I would say that the photo is very similar to one moms around the world post of their newborns. Just like Charlotte and George being photographed on a patch of grass is ordinary and similar to those I’ve seen of amateur photographers on Facebook. I guess the world is full of fame hungry moms who delight in having a child and wanting to share that joy with those around them. Who knew Mother’s Day could make people so spiteful.
Lovely. Too funny, all this parsing and shading for a very sweet baby photo and message. It’s true that Meghan will be criticized for what Kate would be praised for– so unfair. Buy that house in L.A., Meghan. We Americans will welcome you and your darling family back home with open arms. Awful Brits. Why are they our allies again?
JanetFerber, so not true. Her biggest critics and bullies tend to be older white women. And older American women lead the pack. Brits generally support her, and frankly with orange doofus in office I’m suprised that Brits are still our allies.
Sunnee—that is a bald-faced lie and you know it. Utter bollocks.
And this is based on what, might I ask? Sounds like sheer fantasy.
Sorry, what did Sunnee say that was incorrect? It seems to me that the research that has been done backs her up entirely.
“Why are they our allies again?” I’m staggered by the senselessness of that statement. Almost speechless. Are you for real?
Low how quickly we forget.
Britain and the US have been allies since WWII. They will continue to be allies despite Trump and May. Please read up on some history before you make such silly blanket statements.
The forget me nots being in the back ground are EPIC. wonderful job. Just shows that everything is details with Megs. As it should. The symbolic meaning of the forget me nots of mother and child are just perfection. And the mom holding his feet as if she will always be beside his footsteps no matter what. Bravo. Yeah I know. I’m a bit sappy this morning.
The haters will say it’s calculated but they will throw shade anyway, whatever she does.
I went into the comments on Instagram and that was disappointing, so much disdain for this woman, people really need more to do with their time
So many women in those comments are absolutely SEETHING with jealousy. You see a little of that leaking onto here too. Can’t relate.
Saw this yesterday and couldn’t help but pass around my phone at brunch so everyone could oogle Archie’s delicious lil baby feet!
My only issue with this post initially (as commenters on the Instagram post pointed out) was that the poet was not credited but looks like an edit to the caption was made so that nayyirah.waheed was properly credited.
It was really sweet of them to share this photo with us. Baby feetzzzz!!!!
I’m now to Instagram, and my page is private because my babies, BUT I am so disappointed in women hating on women nonstop. Can we please try to uplift women?? As a woman it makes me sick to my stomach. How can there be so much hate in the world over a lovely Mother’s Day message and ADORABLE baby feet?!? I’m just not a negative person and I do not understand the outrage or hate so many people are filled with. It makes me scared and sad for the world. I believe the majority of people are good. It’s just too easy to hide behind a computer screen and day horrible things. As a mom of young babies who have zero idea social media even exists…I’m terrified. I’m in my 30’s and social media wasn’t a thing when I was in high school. It’s a whole different ball game from how we all use to grow up. Internet safety and being safe in real life….now it’s as if the world is twice as dangerous! Back to my point, Meghan is being kicked apart and instead she should be uplifted and supported! I think that’s why you will never see me pick apart Kate or Meghan. I really feel for them.
I hope all women had a relaxing day yesterday, I know the day can be emotionally taxing for some so be kind to everyone.
I think when you don’t have to put a face to the comment it’s easier to be snarky and mean. I too am concerned about why women seem to think stomping on other women uplifts them or someone else. Most comments saying how wonderful Kate is also has a Meghan did it bad vibe to it and vice versa. I also think we have lost the right way to gossip or even b(*ch. You can say an outfit is hideous, makeup bad, etc, but we almost always go to physical aspect which the person can’t change too. One’s that are demeaning too. Those kind of comments use to be the outliers, now they are more the norm. I just wish it would change a bit. I like to gossip and talk about this stuff, but I try not to go to this person sucks, and it almost seems like people enjoy that.
Like many, I was pretty teary seeing this and reading the caption. Life is so fascinating and when moments feel hopeless; I’m glad for times I have beautiful memories and know of those amazing times for others. Sure they’re in the 1%, but I feel like they care and want to do good in the world, plus losing a parent (which they both, arguably, have) is an emotional pain that 100% go through.
Big feet, and so perfect! He’s gonna be a big boy!
Yes, l thought that he has big feet, good for sports.
Harry has an amazing aesthetic and artistic eye. I’ve been so impressed by his photography. Very surprising. He’s been painted as this dense doofus but his art shows otherwise.
Lovely picture! I’m wishing them all the best!
I’m really surprised by the negative comments on here. I think the photo is beautiful! Baby feet ❤️😍. You can also tell that it is definitely Meghan who posted this. She spelt honour the American way (without the u).
Not baby Archie.
Master Archie.
The flowers are Forget Me Nots – Diana’s favorite.
Sweet mom, sweet photo, count me in.
I’ve never understood the appeal of nayyirah.waheed’s poetry. Interesting photo though.
This is a beautiful photo. And that wrinkly little leg is just divine!
So Thirsty…