Meghan Markle breaks silence after backlash over selfie with Wille Rydman

Meghan Markle’s spokesperson has reacted after the Duchess received massive backlash over selfie with Wille Rydman.

Finland’s Minister of Social Affairs and Health took to X, formerly Twitter handle and shared a photo with Meghan.

He tweeted, “A dinner with Meghan” following a World Health Organisation event in Geneva on Sunday.

Meghan and Wille’s selfie quickly became a public relations problem for Meghan when social media users began highlighting Rydman's troubled history in Finnish politics.

Meghan Markle quickly reacted to the backlash and the spokesman for the Duchess made clear that she was entirely unaware of who Mr Rydman was before their encounter.

The spokesperson said, "To be absolutely clear, the Duchess does not know Mr Rydman, had no prior awareness of him attending the event, and was unfamiliar with the concerning reports relating to him.”

Meghan’s representative explained that checking the background of every individual who approaches for a photograph simply is not feasible.

Meghan had "politely" agreed to Mr Rydman's request for a picture as she departed the venue following the meal, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said, "As is often the case at public engagements, and where time permits, the Duchess politely obliges such requests.”

Meghan visited Geneva, where she installed The Lost Screen Memorial at the Place des Nations alongside the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79), bringing the urgent realities of online harm into one of the world’s most consequential spaces for global public health and policymaking.