The British press has no problem when Prince William and Kate Middleton parade their children at state events. This summer alone, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis have appeared at Trooping the Colour in coordinated outfits and at VE Day commemorations with royal photographers capturing every polished detail. Their public outings are routinely framed as heartwarming family moments. The press treats their visibility as a noble obligation. No one questions whether their privacy is being compromised.

But when Meghan Sussex shields her children’s faces—using emojis, angles, or partial frames—she’s accused of scheming. In The Telegraph, a columnist labeled her children “clickbait,” suggesting a “Burberry Kids campaign” is on the way. On The Sun’s royal roundtable, panelists speculated about future monetization, even though Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet remain largely unseen.

What enrages them isn’t secrecy. It’s control. Meghan and Harry won’t let their children be used for PR stunts or front-page filler. They’ve cut off the royal media’s favorite revenue stream: access to royal babies on demand. And for that, they’re punished with words like “manipulative,” “cringe,” and “obnoxious.”

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Meghan is Punished For Privacy While Others Are Praised For Control

When actress Kristen Bell uses cartoon filters over her daughters’ faces, People magazine applauds her for setting healthy boundaries. When social media baron Mark Zuckerberg shares photos with emojis over his kids’ faces, it’s seen as responsible parenting. But when Meghan does it, she’s accused of playing games, hiding something, or worse—trying to manipulate the public.

Side-by-side screenshots of People magazine articles. On the left, Kristen Bell poses with her daughters whose faces are obscured by bunny face filters. On the right, Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger share a family photo with their children’s faces fully visible, outlined by a large pink heart. Both headlines highlight family moments but depict different approaches to child privacy.

On a panel for The Sun, photographer Arthur Edwards and royal editor Matt Wilkinson tossed out baseless claims that Meghan might “monetize” her children with something as absurd as a calendar—offering no evidence, only entitlement. Meanwhile, Celia Walden, wife of Piers Morgan, echoed the smear campaign in The Telegraph, claiming Meghan was “champing at the bit to monetise her kids”—a puzzling accusation given that their faces remain unseen.

Staged Smiles vs Protected Kids

At the same time, the media praises Kate Middleton for carefully curated birthday portraits of George, Charlotte, and Louis. These photos are not spontaneous. They are timed, polished, and released with precision. No one calls these photo ops what they really are—strategic PR. The press packages them as royal tradition, even though it’s clear the children are being used to maintain public interest in the monarchy.

This is how the rules bend depending on who’s holding the camera and who’s being watched. When Kate’s children appear for Trooping the Colour, the press brands it as a charming display of duty, even though the atmosphere suggests pressure behind the smiles. But even in that moment, the strain shows—Kate turns sharply toward George and Charlotte, delivering what looks like a reprimand as George shifts uncomfortably, hands clenched and shoulders hunched. They weren’t misbehaving. They were just being kids under pressure in the spotlight. Still, no headlines asked whether it was fair to stage-manage their posture for public consumption. Meanwhile, Meghan keeps her children out of that spotlight entirely—and somehow, she’s the one accused of exploitation.

Source: @Rimmesfk

The Media Doesn’t Want Visibility, They Want Access And Profit

Meghan’s refusal to deliver her children to the press on a silver platter exposes how little has changed since Diana’s time. Royal photographer Arthur Edwards told The Sun panel he used to get tipped off when Princess Diana took William and Harry to Thorpe Park. He called those moments “great pictures,” conveniently ignoring how often Harry has described the trauma of being stalked as a child. The British media knows it helped create that cycle—and it wants it to continue, just with new faces to exploit.

But Meghan and Harry are not working royals. They stepped away from that system, and their children, despite being in the line of succession, are under no obligation to be paraded for the cameras. That’s not unusual. Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are also in the line of succession, hold royal titles, and have made the same choice. Beatrice rarely shares photos of her daughter Sienna, and Eugenie has carefully limited public access to images of her sons, August and Ernest. No one accuses them of manipulation or suggests they’re withholding children as PR pawns. The scrutiny Meghan faces isn’t about protocol—it’s about power, race, and the media’s entitlement to visibility it hasn’t earned.

Even royalists are starting to admit what the tabloids won’t: these public outings aren’t harmless tradition—they’re branding exercises. A viral tweet during the 2025 Trooping the Colour summed it up bluntly: “Don’t parade your children to market the family business.” The image showed Prince George with his face buried in his hands, clearly overwhelmed. No one asked if he wanted to be there. No one considered the toll. Yet Meghan, who shields her children from this very cycle, is the one accused of being calculated.

The Real Problem Is Meghan Won’t Play the Media Game

Their fury isn’t really about Meghan’s decisions. It’s about losing relevance in a media landscape they can no longer control. They can’t profit off Archie and Lilibet. They can’t call up the palace for a photo drop. They’re watching a woman outmaneuver them, using her own platform to share what she chooses, when she chooses, and never for them.

This is what makes their narrative so hollow. Meghan is accused of monetizing children whose faces she has largely kept private. Meanwhile, Kate and William release highly produced portraits that fuel media engagement and public intrusion. No one accuses them of exploitation. No one asks if George and Charlotte want to be on the front pages.

Meghan is not asking for applause. She’s asking for respect. And the people who’ve built careers off royal baby photos can’t stand it. Because to the royal press machine, a Black mother protecting her children isn’t practicing healthy boundaries—it’s committing a royal offense

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