Meghan Markle And Prince Harry’s New Instagram Account Breaks Record In Under Six Hours
Instagram records aren’t just for Kylie Jenner (and eggs).
One day after launching their official Instagram presence, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made history. On April 3, 2019, Guinness World Records reported the fastest time ever for an Instagram account to reach 1 million followers. The royal couple’s social media account took just five hours and 46 minutes to reach the 1-million mark.
As of April 3, @sussexroyal‘s following sits at 2.6 million.
On Tuesday, April 2, The Inquisitr covered this couple’s Instagram debut. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have become one of the most high-profile couples around since tying the knot in May 2018. The former Suits actress and her husband are preparing for the arrival of their first child later this month.
As of Wednesday, Meghan and Harry’s Instagram account offers only one post. A royal-blue background with white lettering welcomes fans to the account with a joint message. Despite having no picture, the post currently sits at over 800,000 likes.
“Welcome to our official Instagram. We look forward to sharing the work that drives us, the causes we support, important announcements, and the opportunity to shine a light on key issues. We thank you for your support, and welcome you to @sussexroyal – Harry and Meghan.”
The news comes with a touch of irony – albeit of a positive nature. Markle was forced to shut down her social media accounts as she joined the royal family. An Instagram account that showed swimwear, yoga poses, and selfies was not appropriate for a future member of the royal family, and neither was a Hollywood career. Alongside ditching a wardrobe of jeans and tank tops, Meghan underwent somewhat of an identity revamp on her journey to becoming a royal. She is now more popular than ever.
As Medium reports, the rush to access Meghan and Harry’s account didn’t just break records. Around 69 minutes into its launch, the account caused a brief Instagram “crash.” Users were reporting needing to click “follow” multiple times for a successful result. The platform itself later confirmed a “cap” having been instigated as a cautionary measure. The media outlet quoted an Instagram “insider,” who recalled what happened when these technical issues were taking place.
“From what I was seeing, the account could have easily seen around 10,000 followers per minute at sustained growth, but that just wasn’t possible so a cap seems necessary for the moment.”
Instagram’s records have previously been broken by Kylie Jenner, whose February 2018 baby announcement racked up 18 million likes. In January 2019, the World Record Egg beat Stormi’s arrival post by 10 million likes, HuffPost reports. Meghan and Harry have a way to go before reaching levels of that caliber. Given the record they’ve just broken, though, it seems this couple may be contenders to join the above two.
