Prince Harry traded royal engagements for a surfboard this week, and Meghan Markle made sure the world knew just how impressed she was.
In a rare personal Instagram post shared Friday, the Duchess of Sussex uploaded a short clip of the Duke expertly catching waves off the coast of California. The 40-year-old prince was seen riding bright blue surf swells with surprising ease, at one point crouching low to glide beneath a curling wave.
“We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming to bring you this important message:” Meghan Markle captioned the video, giving a cheeky nod to her private nickname for her husband, “Fox.” The post, which had its comments switched off, was also reshared on her Instagram Stories.
The lighthearted moment comes just days before Meghan Markle’s Netflix series Love, Meghan returns for its second season on August 26. The series, which dives into her personal and professional journey since leaving royal duties, has already stirred plenty of conversation online.
This is not the first time Meghan Markle has drawn attention with candid posts about her family life. In June, she marked daughter Princess Lilibet’s birthday by posting a throwback video of herself and Harry dancing in the delivery room before Lili’s birth. Captioning the playful clip, Markle wrote: “Four years ago today, this also happened… Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do”
In the footage, Markle danced beside her hospital bed in a black gown while Harry joined in, moving across the camera in jeans and a hoodie. While the playful moment drew criticism from some social media users, the couple appeared unfazed. Days later, they were spotted enjoying a family day at Disneyland with Lilibet, now 4, and Archie, 6, complete with mouse ears and a private meet-and-greet with Frozen’s Queen Elsa.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who stepped back from senior royal duties in 2020 and settled in Montecito, California, continue to balance public scrutiny with their efforts to showcase a more relatable family life. Their marriage, often highlighted through affectionate public gestures, has been at the center of ongoing royal tensions particularly Prince Harry’s strained relationship with his brother, Prince William, over Meghan’s role in the family rift.
The couple wed in 2018 in a grand ceremony at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, attended by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. In a striking revelation from former royal butler Grant Harrold’s forthcoming memoir The Royal Butler, published this week by The Telegraph, Prince Philip reportedly turned to the late Queen after the ceremony and quipped: “Thank f–k that’s over.”
Despite such behind-the-scenes anecdotes and continuing family drama, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle remain intent on shaping their post-royal identities on their own terms and Friday’s surfing clip was the latest reminder of how the pair mix everyday fun with global spotlight.