Meghan Markle’s latest social-media flop landed with a thud this week when the Duchess posted an Instagram Story from a limousine in Paris showing picturesque bridges and her feet casually propped up in the backseat during Paris Fashion Week. What might have been a throwaway glamour moment instead became a painfully tone-deaf spectacle because the footage rolled past landmarks adjacent to the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, the place where Princess Diana lost her life in 1997.
Sharp-eyed viewers noticed the clip included views of Pont Alexandre III and Pont des Invalides before the car neared the Pont de l’Alma area, and critics quickly called out the timing and setting as insensitive. Whether intentional or careless, posting a leisurely feet-up shot while cruising within sight of a site tied to such a tragic moment in the royal family’s history exposed appalling judgment.
Royal commentators didn’t waste time labeling the move inappropriate; Richard Fitzwilliams described the post as “utterly bewildering” and “insensitive beyond belief,” a reaction hundreds of ordinary people echoed online. Conservatives who respect tradition and mourning aren’t asking for Meghan to be canceled — they’re asking for basic decency and common sense, standards that anyone in the public eye should meet.
Of course, there were defenders ready to gaslight the uproar into thin air, insisting the route and the video were harmless and that social-media critics are simply looking to pounce. That line of defense doesn’t fly for those who remember Diana as more than a storyline; it betrays a pattern of publicity-first thinking that treats sacred moments and family grief as props.
This isn’t an isolated misstep. Earlier this year Meghan’s As Ever brand launched a Napa rosé on July 1 — coinciding with what would have been Princess Diana’s birthday — and pundits called that decision tone-deaf as well. When a public figure repeatedly times commercial choices and performative moments around emotionally charged dates and places, reasonable people are entitled to ask whether respect is being intentionally sidelined for attention.
Tabloid reports even suggested Prince William was “livid beyond words” at the clip, which, if true, should give pause to anyone who thinks reckless social-media stunts are consequence-free. Even if some outlets embellish, the reality remains: viral posts have real victims when they trample on family grief, and the palace’s patience with this kind of spectacle won’t last forever.
Meghan has not issued a public apology or substantive explanation as the backlash swells, and silence in moments like this reads as arrogance to many Americans who value accountability. If the Sussexes want to be treated with the same respect and seriousness they demand, they must stop staging controversy and start showing genuine restraint and reverence for history and families who have suffered.
