Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have once again captured the attention of the public—and the press—by sharing a series of intimate, playful videos and photos that offer a rare glimpse into their private family life. The Duchess of Sussex, 44, took to social media on January 16 and 17, 2026, to post a black and white video of herself dancing with Prince Harry, 41, on the lawn of their Montecito, California mansion. The video, which was recorded by their four-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet, was set to Olivia Dean's 2025 hit "So Easy (To Fall in Love)" and quickly became a talking point across tabloids and social platforms alike, according to Fox News and other outlets.
But this wasn’t just any home movie. The clip, part of the viral "2026 is the new 2016" trend, shows Meghan in loose shorts and a white shirt dancing toward Harry, who’s dressed casually in pants and a T-shirt. The couple embrace, kiss, and whirl each other around the lawn—at one point, Harry dips Meghan backward, and in a particularly candid moment, he lifts her up as she wraps her legs around his waist. According to The Tab, Harry even playfully touches Meghan’s backside, apparently forgetting the camera is rolling. The video radiates the kind of unscripted affection rarely seen from members of the royal family.
Alongside the video, Meghan posted a throwback photo from 2016, capturing a beaming Harry and Meghan standing knee-deep in a waterhole in Botswana—a snapshot from their very first holiday together, just weeks after they met. The posts were captioned, "When 2026 feels just like 2016…you had to be there," and credited their daughter Lilibet as the videographer. The couple’s son, Prince Archie, age six, also made a cameo in the video, shown admiring a rhino at a local zoo, while Meghan played with a nearby giraffe. A colorful shopping list, apparently written by Lilibet, rounded out the montage, giving followers an even more personal look at the family’s daily life.
The response from the public was swift and overwhelmingly positive, with many praising the couple for their authenticity and relatability. As noted by The Tab, social media users commented on how the video reminded them of their own families. One Reddit user wrote, "Harry is a menace, Lilibet voice, Doria singing, Lilibet veggies shopping list, amazing. I love rota and royalist are going crash hard." Another added, "Aww Lili and her Grandma in the pool living their best lives. Her parents dancing and her dad getting carried away. And Archie (and his gorgeous head of Auburn hair) feeding the rhino. Adorable little family." Others remarked on the playful dynamic between Harry and Meghan, with one user saying, "I love how he was so in the moment and tried to grab her butt and she had to grab his hand," and another sharing, "Reminds me of my parents dancing in the kitchen. My Dad would always grab my Mom's butt like that."
Still, the couple’s willingness to share such intimate moments is seen by some as another break from royal tradition. As The Tab highlighted, Meghan and Harry have long been considered rule-breakers: from Harry marrying a divorced American actress (which caused a stir in the British press) to their dramatic departure from senior royal duties in January 2020, and their subsequent move to California. Their openness on social media—especially Meghan’s daily posts featuring family life—stands in stark contrast to the tightly controlled image typically maintained by the royal household.
For those who haven’t been following the royal saga, the backstory is as compelling as the latest videos. Harry and Meghan met on a blind date in early July 2016, set up by a mutual friend in London. Sparks flew immediately, and just three or four weeks later, Harry invited Meghan to join him on a camping trip in Botswana. As Harry recalled in a November 2017 interview with BBC, "I think about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana. And we – we camped out with each other under the stars, we spent – she came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic." Meghan added, "Just to take the – take the time to be able to go on long country walks and just talk." Harry noted, "I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly — it was a confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned. This beautiful woman literally tripped and fell into my life."
Their whirlwind romance continued in secret for several months, with Meghan filming her television show "Suits" in Toronto and Harry based in London. "We had a good five, six months almost with just privacy, which was amazing," Meghan told the BBC. "I think we were able to really have so much time just to connect and we never went longer than two weeks without seeing each other, even though we were obviously doing a long-distance relationship. So it's – we made it work."
The couple publicly confirmed their relationship in November 2016, with Harry issuing a statement pleading for privacy amid intense media scrutiny. Their engagement was announced in November 2017, and they wed in May 2018. Their family soon grew, with Archie born in May 2019 and Lilibet in June 2021. The pressures of royal life, and what they described as mistreatment from senior royals and the press, led to their decision to step down as senior royals in January 2020. By August of that year, they had relocated to a sprawling $14 million mansion in Montecito, California, where they continue to raise their children and build a new life far from the constraints of Buckingham Palace.
While some royal watchers criticize Harry and Meghan for flouting protocol and oversharing, many see their posts as a refreshing departure from the reserve that has long characterized the monarchy. Their willingness to embrace social media and share unguarded moments—whether it’s a playful dance, a family outing to the zoo, or a child’s handwritten shopping list—has helped them forge a new identity as modern royals who are, above all, a family. As Fox News and The Tab both report, the public’s reaction suggests that, for many, this new approach is not just welcome—it’s long overdue.
As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue to chart their own course, their candid glimpses into family life remind the world that even those born into tradition can choose to dance to their own tune.