1.6 million people give up hope of Harry and Meghan's royal return

A year after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced to stop using their official Instagram account "Sussex royal" in 2020, their total number of followers stood at 10.3 million followers in March 2021.

The couple's popularity, as far as Instagram is concerned, continued to grow despite their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview, their first media appearance on March 7, 2021 after they had stepped down as working members of the royal family.

Earlier, the couple had, on March 30, 2020, informed their followers in their last Instagram post that "While you may not see us here, the work continues." 

More than 1.6 million people, who clang to hopes of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's return to royal duties, seem to have finally given up and left as the couple's "Sussex Royal" account now has 8.7 million followers. 

  

Interestingly, the remaining 8.7 followers also include the official accounts of the Royal Family and Prince William and Kate Middleton. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently living in California with their two children, Prince Archie and Lilibet.

While the Duchess of Sussex returned to Instagram on January 1, 2025 with a new account, Harry is not known to have a public account yet.