Meghan Markle and Prince Harry unfollow Prince William, Kate and the Royal Family on Instagram to focus on mental health
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry just made the list of people they follow on Instagram even more exclusive than before, and it looks like no one from the royal family made the cut. The soon-to-be parents just updated their newly launched Instagram account and their following list shrunk from 23 to just 16.
The couple's social media page unfollowed the accounts of Kensington Royal (Prince William and Kate Middleton‘s account that they formerly shared with Meghan and Harry), Clarence House (the account of Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall), Princess Eugenie, Prince Andrew and even The Royal Family (which represents the Queen and other members of the family).
However, the couple, who are waiting for the imminent birth of their first child, clarified that they had unfollowed these accounts for a meaningful reason. They explained in a new post that they are only following organizations that work to "promote mental well-being, mental fitness, body positivity, self-care, and the importance of human connection" this month.
According to reports, May is Mental Health Awareness Month in the US, while Mental Health Awareness Week runs from May 13 to 19 is in the UK. "There are countless organizations doing amazing work for mental health – please consider the accounts we've highlighted as a small snapshot of this global support network," they wrote. "We are all in this together."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now following accounts like Heads Together (the royals' mental health initiative), Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation, Headspace, Pandas Foundation and Oprah Winfrey's SuperSoul Sunday talk show. It is also being said that the duo will change their following list to reflect charities and organizations surrounding different causes each month.
In addition to unfollowing the royal family, Prince Harry and Meghan also stopped following organizations close to their hearts, like Invictus Games Foundation and Invictus Games 2020, accounts for the Paralympics-style sporting event created by Prince Harry for wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and veterans to compete.
Given how Harry has close ties to Africa, and the recent announcement of the couple planning to relocate to Africa in the future, it was surprising to note that the royal couple unfollowed African Parks Network, Rhino Conservation Botswana and Sentebale, the foundation set up by the royals and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006 to help children affected by HIV in Lesotho and Botswana.
The couple captioned their very first social media post: "Welcome to our official Instagram; we look forward to sharing the work that drives us, the causes we support, important announcements, and the opportunity to shine a light on key issues. We thank you for your support, and welcome you to @sussexroyal. — Harry & Meghan."