There’s certain things in life that are just too predictable. The driver who just undertook you on the motorway being behind the wheel of a BMW. A shiny new TV show being presented by either Bradley Walsh, Romesh Ranganathan or Stephen Mulhern. And Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sharing another picture of the back of their kids’ heads.
This week was Prince Archie’s seventh birthday. So royal fans were treated to an inevitable photo of the little man from behind. As pictures of the backs of heads go it was pretty cute. Princess Lilibet was snuggled in beside him on a beautiful-looking beach with Archie holding a stick so large its discovery would be the highlight of any seven-year-old’s week.
We also got an adorable picture of Archie as a baby asleep on dad Harry’s chest. And this time we got to see his face. Albeit his face from almost seven years ago.
So maybe when he’s 14 we can expect to find out what he looked like when he was seven.
For any parent it’s a tricky decision working out how much or how little to share about your children’s lives on social media. Some mums and dads like to rival Snappy Snaps for photographic output. Others share so few it becomes a shock when you remember they’re even a parent.
Harry and Meghan have always been keen to protect their children’s privacy. Which many would agree is commendable.
But then there appears to be the irrestible lure of cold hard cash that each picture potentially brings.
Meghan’s Instagram account has 4.5 million followers. It’s previously been claimed that Meghan could earn up to £800,000 for a single post if it promoted a product. And even if a photo of the kids is doing no such thing, it’s helping maintain Meghan’s fan base and build the Sussex brand.
Meghan’s accountant must see it as a no brainer. Post a quick back of head shot and keep the fans happy.
Except does it keep the fans happy? Harry and Meghan super fans will no doubt lap it up. For them a picture of Harry’s toe nail trimmings would be sufficient.
But think of those ardent royalists who proudly collected any item of crockery with the Queen Mother’s face on it. A china plate with the back of Archie’s head on it probably won’t be on the Christmas list.
The way many will see it is that Harry and Meg want to preach about the risks of social media while trousering bundles of cash from the very platforms they see as being so dangerous. And one thing Brits really don’t like is hypocrisy. In the irritation stakes it’s like being served fish and chips and discovering your cod hasn’t been battered.
If the couple really are keen to get back into the Royal Family’s good books you can’t imagine this is sustainable in the long-term when the British public are so used to seeing William and Kate’s kids.
Who knows what’s happening in private but it’s so sad to think that for George, Charlotte and Louis, they may have no better idea than the rest of us what Archie and Lilibet look like.
One of the biggest joys of any childhood is spending time with your cousins. And you can only hope that one day we’ll see the five young royals happily playing together. Ideally with all of them facing the camera.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
