Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Ever Have a Twitter Account?

In 2018, as things were getting serious with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle closed down her personal Twitter and Instagram (opens in new tab). But that hasn't stopped trolls. After the trolling and criticism against the British royal family and specifically Meghan reached particularly high levels, Kensington Palace took the unprecedented step of establishing a new code of conduct (opens in new tab) for interacting with the royals on social media earlier this year.

Explicitly, these new rules state that no one will “be defamatory of any person, deceive others, be obscene, offensive, threatening, abusive, hateful, inflammatory or promote sexually explicit material or violence.” Nor are they allowed to “promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age.” It's a big step—and one that seems necessary, given that Twitter has struggled with trolls in the past (opens in new tab) and is only now beginning to catch up (opens in new tab).

Earlier this year, Harry and Meghan started an account on Instagram (opens in new tab), but noticeably stayed away from Twitter entirely. Will that always be the case, or are there plans to eventually expand to the platform now that the Royal Family has new measures in place?

Speaking on a discussion panel in March, (opens in new tab) Meghan said she's off social media entirely. "I don't read anything, it's much safer that way,” she said. “But equally that's just my own personal preference, because I think positive or negative, it can all start to just feel like noise to a certain extent these days." We know that Prince Harry used to have secret social media accounts (opens in new tab), and it is rumored that he does sometimes read the news—which is one of the reasons why the Sussexes prioritize their security online. The Sussexes even sued Splash News (opens in new tab) after they took intrusive helicopter pictures of the couple's Oxfordshire home and sold them to online publications.

This is the account where they post all official photos (like Archie's christening!) and notices about engagements:

And there's been speculation that Meghan does, occasionally, post comments as herself (opens in new tab) (although officially the account won't ever specify). When the account wishes other royals congrats or happy birthday (opens in new tab), emojis are sometimes used. And eagle-eyed fans have also spotted that sometimes the spelling on posts will be American English, sometime British English.

But royal reporter Omid Scobie says that there are still no plans for the Sussexes to open a Twitter account. According to him, they feel more "protected" (especially now that they're parents) on Instagram, which has a robust system to combat trolls (opens in new tab) and is working to make it even stronger.

That seems like a pretty big choice for the Sussexes to make, and it makes sense—they're very focused on their security.

Their foundation may have a Twitter—but no word yet.

The Sussexes just announced their Sussex Royal foundation (opens in new tab) (which is the same title as their Instagram, so it's VERY on-brand). This may be a way for them to engage on the platform in a less personal way, although it won't stop trolls and might force them to make liberal use of the mute button (opens in new tab).

Furthermore, the Kate Middleton and Prince William/formerly Fab Four charity The Royal Foundation didn't have its own Twitter. The Cambridges would just post Royal Foundation updates on the Kensington Royal Twitter:

So the Sussexes may stay away from Twitter entirely for now, but as the Sussex foundation begins to get off the ground, there may be a flurry of new social media activity. TBD.

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