Meghan Markle is facing fresh backlash after sharing a private family moment connected to one of the most sensitive places in royal history: Princess Diana’s childhood home.
The Duchess of Sussex recently posted a photo on Instagram showing Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet walking on the grounds of Althorp Estate, the Spencer family property where Diana grew up and where she was laid to rest after her death in 1997.
In the image, Archie appeared to be carrying a bouquet of flowers, prompting speculation that the children were visiting Diana’s gravesite. The picture quickly sparked outrage among royal watchers, with critics accusing Meghan of turning a deeply private family moment into public content.
Now, one royal commentator is going even further.
Daily Mail columnist Maureen Callahan blasted the post in a scathing opinion piece, calling Meghan’s decision to publish the image “vulgar” and “callous.” Callahan suggested the move may have been “an act of defiance,” especially after reports that no photographs were allowed during Prince Harry and Meghan’s recent meeting with King Charles.
The image appeared to hit a particularly raw nerve because of where it was taken. Princess Diana was buried on an island at Althorp, her family’s private estate, in an effort to keep her resting place from becoming a public spectacle.
Callahan argued that Prince William and Princess Kate have likely taken their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, to visit Diana’s grave over the years, but have never released photos from those visits.
“William and Catherine are decent, serious people who understand that some things are sacred,” Callahan wrote, adding that Diana’s burial site was meant to remain private, not become “a circus, a tourist attraction, a commodity.”
The criticism comes amid renewed claims that Prince William has been left furious by Meghan’s handling of moments tied to his late mother. Callahan compared the Althorp photo to a previous video Meghan shared of herself riding in a car near the Paris tunnel where Diana died, which reportedly left William “fuming.”
The controversy also lands at a delicate time for Prince Harry, who is said to be reconsidering the deep divide between himself and the royal family.
One source claimed Harry never truly wanted to be estranged from his relatives, saying that while he was once “madly in love with Meghan” and willing to choose her side completely, “now things are different, and the veil is lifting.”
The insider also suggested Harry has been feeling increasingly homesick and has started reconnecting with old friends in Britain.
“I don’t think Harry’s ever wanted to be estranged from his family,” the source said. “I think when he was madly in love with Meghan, he could be blind enough to choose her. Now things are different, and the veil is lifting.”
Another confidant previously told the Standard that Harry, whose old school nickname was “Spike,” has been reaching out to friends more often.
“Spike is seriously homesick,” the friend claimed. “He’s started reaching out to us more and more.”
The source said those messages began as long, emotional WhatsApps that friends initially treated with surprising care.
“It started with very long and earnest WhatsApps,” the insider said. “We actually all made a decision when we started getting them not to take the p— out of them. Something we couldn’t have imagined doing a few years before. Anyway, gradually, he seems to be sounding more normal.”
The friend added that when people from Harry’s old circle travel to America, they try to see him — but Meghan is reportedly not usually present.
“Whenever anyone goes to America, they try to see him. It never seems to be with Meghan, though,” the insider claimed. “We think he is beginning to pine for home.”
For critics, Meghan’s Althorp photo was not just another social media post. It was another reminder of the bitter divide between the Sussexes and the royals, with Diana’s memory once again caught in the middle.
