The video, shared on Saturday, January 17, on Meghan’s Instagram, featured the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and immediately sparked accusations that Meghan was attempting to “manufacture authenticity” after months of similar online criticism.
“I think MM is trying to sell ‘authenticity’ since so much of the criticism she receives is that she/they aren’t authentic,” one social media user reacted.
Viral Throwback Video Sparks Suspicion
In the now-viral post, Meghan Markle shared a romantic black-and-white clip of herself and Prince Harry dancing barefoot on their lawn on a bright, sunny day. The video was set to Olivia Dean’s 2025 song So Easy (To Fall in Love).
The footage showed the couple kissing, with Harry playfully lifting Meghan toward the end of the clip.
Meghan also included a photo from her and Harry’s 2016 trip to Botswana, which the couple have previously described as their third official date.
The post was part of a popular 2016 nostalgia trend on social media, referencing the year the couple first began dating nearly a decade ago. Prince Harry and Meghan famously met in July 2016 on a blind date arranged by a mutual friend at Soho House’s Dean Street Townhouse in London.
Meghan captioned the post, “When 2026 feels just like 2016… you had to be there.”
The ‘Cred: Our Daughter’ Controversy
What unsettled many viewers was the caption’s final line: “cred: our daughter,” suggesting that Princess Lilibet, aged four, filmed the video.
Skeptics quickly questioned the steadiness and polished look of the footage, with many arguing that it appeared far too professional to have been recorded by a young child.
“Notice how they always hide behind a ‘child detail’ to disarm criticism. It’s not wholesome, it’s strategic,” one angry commenter wrote.
Another critic posted on X, “There’s no way in one million years that their four-year-old is taking a video, when I was four-years-old I was playing with dolls, not recording my parents dancing with each other.”
User @XOQueenEsther added, “A four year old does not film like an adult… A four year old filming a video is usually chaotic. The camera shakes. The framing is random. Someone’s head gets cut off. There is movement, sudden tilting, giggling, wandering, fingers covering the lens, accidental zooming…”