Meghan Markle's limousine video near Princess Diana's crash site sparks outrage
Meghan Markle was in Paris for Paris fashion week, where she was seen mingling with fellow guests including Vogue's global editorial director Anna Wintour.
Image: Instagram
The Duchess of Sussex has sparked outrage online after sharing a video of herself reclining with her feet up in the back of a limousine as it drove through central Paris, just moments away from the tunnel where Princess Diana tragically died.
Meghan Markle, who was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week, posted the short clip on Instagram, where she has 4.2 million followers.
The video, filmed from her perspective, shows the duchess resting her feet on the seat as the car passes several of the city’s iconic bridges, including Pont Alexandre III and Pont des Invalides.
Meghan Markle took a picture of her feet up in a limousine as she passed Paris's Pont Alexandre III bridge, she was heading towards nearby Pont d'Alma - close to where Princess Diana died in 1997.
Image: Instagram
The next bridge along the route is Pont de l’Alma, near the tunnel where Princess Diana, her partner Dodi Fayed, and driver Henri Paul were killed in a car crash in August 1997, a loss that profoundly affected Prince Harry, Meghan’s husband.
Critics have labelled the post as "insensitive" and "bewilderingly tasteless," accusing the duchess of poor judgment given the proximity to such a deeply personal tragedy for her husband.
The video surfaced shortly after Meghan made a surprise appearance at the Balenciaga show, where she was seen mingling with Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour, actress Anne Hathaway, and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams condemned the duchess’s decision to post the clip, telling the Daily Mail that her actions were “utterly bewildering,” “beyond stupid,” and “insensitive beyond belief.”
“I don’t understand what on earth she was thinking – well, she can’t have been thinking. No adviser would ever advise doing something so strange,” Fitzwilliams said.
“I’m sure she didn’t mean to cause offense, she can’t have been thinking, but it’s insensitive beyond belief. It’s a complete absence of thought.”
He added: “Diana’s death is a tragedy that has scarred so much of Harry’s life and I can’t imagine he would find this very appropriate.”
Social media users on X also expressed disapproval. One wrote: “Regardless of specific location, filming herself driving through Paris at night is sending exactly the message she intends to send.” Another commented that the clip was “not exactly helpful” for Prince Harry, while one user simply remarked: “You cannot make this up.”
A further comment read: “Please tell me that’s not real..? She didn’t actually do that.. did she..?”
IOL Entertainment