Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, returns to Instagram with a New Year’s video

FILE PHOTO: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,speaks during a keynote on women’s representation in media and entertainment with Errin Haines, Katie Couric, Brooke Shields, and Nancy Wang Yuen at the South by Southwest Conference (SXSW) in Austin,Texas, U.S. March 8, 2024. REUTERS/Nuri Vallbona/FILE PHOTO

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is starting the new year with her first Instagram account since 2020.

The Associated Press confirmed Wednesday that @meghan belongs to the Duchess of Sussex. Her first post is a black and white video of herself at the beach, wearing white and drawing 2025 in the sand on an overcast day. The account already has more than 200,000 followers.

Meghan and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, were married in 2018, and were initially part of @KensingtonRoyal, which also included Harry’s brother, Prince William, and his wife, Kate, the Princess of Wales.

But a year later, Meghan and Harry launched their own account, @SussexRoyal, a sign of their growing distance from the royal family. @SussexRoyal was discontinued in 2020, around the time that Meghan and Harry announced they were stepping back from their official roles.

Meghan, who had a popular Instagram account when she was best known for her role in “Suits,” had indicated she would return. In a 2022 interview with New York Magazine’s The Cut, she confided: “Do you want to know a secret? I’m getting back … on Instagram.”

At other times, she sounded reluctant to return to Instagram, citing concerns about harassment. In 2023, Meghan and Harry urged social media platforms to strengthen content-moderation policies, saying that some apps could damage the mental health of young people.