Meghan Markle has officially returned to Instagram, marking a new chapter on the social media platform.

The Duchess of Sussex launched her personal account on New Year’s Day with a video captured by her husband Prince Harry on a beach near their home in Montecito, California, ABC News reported.

In the clip, Markle, 43, is seen running barefoot toward the waves, her back to the camera. She stops to trace “2025” in the sand before giggling and jogging away. Dressed in an all-white outfit, Markle disabled comments on the post but received “likes” from celebrity friends including Serena Williams, Chrissy Teigen, and Tan France.

In August 2023, Page Six reported that Markle secured the handle @meghan for her Instagram return. The account had 113,000 followers when she posted the beach video, though Markle has yet to follow any accounts herself. Her profile photo is black-and-white, featuring her smiling with her hair down.

In an earlier interview with The Cut, Markle teased her return to the platform, saying, “Do you want to know a secret? I’m getting back…on Instagram.”

Before launching her new personal Instagram account, Markle briefly returned to the platform in March 2024 with a page dedicated to her lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard.

The account featured a bio reading, “By Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex. Established 2024,” and a photo grid displaying the brand’s logo.

Her personal reentry to Instagram comes nearly five years after the final post on her and Harry’s now-inactive joint account, @sussexroyal, shared in March 2020. That post reflected on the fragility of the world during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and pledged a commitment to making a difference.

“While you may not see us here, the work continues,” they wrote at the time.

Markle had previously deactivated her personal accounts in January 2018 following her engagement to Harry. The Suits alum faced intense scrutiny from the British media after marrying Harry, which extended to her experiences online.

“The bulk of the bullying and abuse that I was experiencing on social media and online was when I was pregnant with Archie and Lili, and with a newborn with each of them,” Meghan revealed during a panel at the SXSW Conference in March. “To really wrap your head around why people would be so hateful. It’s not catty—it’s cruel.”

The couple later stepped back from their roles as senior working royals in 2020, moving to the United States with their children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

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