Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, praised the Jools’ Law campaign, which has pushed for changes to online safeguarding following the tragic death of a teenager

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are pictured at an event during a royal tour

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are pictured at an event during a royal tour(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle has been slammed for posting a photograph of Prince Harry and their daughter Princess Lilibet.

The picture, shared on Instagram on Saturday, shows Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, holding the couple’s four-year-old daughter in his arms. Lilibet is dressed in a pink dress with matching tights and is clutching a bouquet of balloons, while Harry looks at her with a broad smile.

But in the past, Harry, 41, and Meghan, 44, have championed for online safeguarding and have stressed the importance of privacy. Harry himself recently became embroiled in a dramatic High Court showdown, unhappy with the media allegedly invading his privacy.

And, as the couple this month heaped praise on campaigners after the UK Government announced changes to a new law around online safeguarding, social media users took aim at the duo for being “hypocritical” by sharing their photo online on the weekend.

This picture - shared on social media - has led to the row and criticism that it was edited

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This picture – shared on social media – has led to the row and criticism that it was edited

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are snapped volunteering at a soup kitchen in Los Angeles

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are snapped volunteering at a soup kitchen in Los Angeles(Image: Archewell Foundation)

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One social media user posted: “Well that didn’t take long did it? Showing the kids faces now. So after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moaned on and on about leaving the royal family for ‘privacy’ wanting to give their kids freedom. They saddle them down with Prince and Princess titles even though they live in America.” Another added: “The hypocrisy is strong with this one.”

Another post reads: “Haz was just fake crying about the dangers of social media and children and a day later they post this! Just proving what lying hypocrites they are.” A further comment questioned why only Lilibet appeared in the image, asking, “How come that over the months they have gone down to just one child, a girl, I thought they had a boy as well, is he not photogenic enough?”

Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020 and relocating to California, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken frequently about their desire for greater privacy and control over their family life. At the same time, any public post involving Archie or Lilibet tends to draw intense attention — and often polarised responses.

And this week the royal couple released a statement following the UK Government’s announcement of proposed amendments to children’s social media data storage regulations within the Crime and Policing Bill. Harry and Meghan’s stance on this has been commended, but the issue critics have had is the “hypocrisy” with them sharing images of their children online.

The pair have typically avoided showing their children’s faces publicly. Matt Wilkinson, a royal journalist, previously said: “My understanding of this or up to a certain stage is that Harry would much rather his children were not seen.”