Meghan Markle & Prince Harry gain nearly half a MILLION followers after royal family split & could overtake Kate & Wills
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry made the shock announcement this week they are stepping back from senior royal duties - but it’s certainly boosted their social media standing.
The SussexRoyal account has racked up nearly half a million followers since the couple released their statement on Wednesday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had previously hit 10million followers before New Year, but now have 10.5million fans now following their account.
The surge in followers means it might not be long before the couple overtake Kate Middleton and Prince William’s 10.8million followers on their KensingtonRoyal page.
Meghan and Harry posted on Instagram they plan to "step back" from royal duties and split their time between Britain and North America - with Canada expected to be their second home.
The couple say they will be "financially independent" as they "carve out a progressive new role", but will still support the Queen.
The BBC reported no other members of the Royal Family were told before the bombshell announcement - with the Queen said to be "disappointed".
And a statement from Buckingham Palace admitted discussions with the couple will be "complicated".
The couple had reportedly told close friends they want to spend some of the next two months working out of Canada after a six-week trial holiday over Christmas and New Year was deemed highly successful.
The SussexRoyal broke records when it was launched on April 2 last year.
It became the fastest account to reach one million followers in less than six hours, Guinness World Records confirmed.
This was later beaten by Jennifer Aniston who reached a million followers in five hours 45 minutes, when she joined the site in October.
Unsurprisingly, baby son Archie dominated the SussexRoyal’s top nine most liked pictures from 2019.
Ranking as the most popular of all among royal fans - with 3m 'likes' - was a black and white photo of Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, taking Archie to meet great-grandparents the Queen and Prince Philip, alongside grandmother Doria Ragland.
This was closely followed by a post the couple had shared days before announcing the birth of their son, which garnered 2.9m 'likes'.
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Meanwhile, there were reports last night that Harry and Meghan had agreed to do a sit-down interview with American TV host Gayle King.