It looked like pure October joy. Pumpkins, crisp light, little boots crunching on straw. Then the comments arrived.
Meghan Markle shared a gentle family clip from a Montecito pumpkin patch—just glimpses of seven-year-old Archie and four-year-old Lilibet, faces turned away as usual. Archie ran through a cornfield. Lilibet rode in a wagon piled with pumpkins. Warm, ordinary moments. But some viewers pounced on a “disgusting” detail: the kids’ clothes versus the parents’ layers.
“Why are they dressed like it’s winter?” one critic asked, pointing to Meghan’s padded coat and Harry’s hoodie, while Archie later appeared in a short-sleeve tee. Supporters quickly pushed back. “He had a jacket on in the first shot,” one follower noted. “Untruth—please be kind,” added another. The broader debate resurfaced too—sharing controlled, face-obscured family content versus protecting the children’s privacy.
At a New York event, Meghan explained her approach: “Our children Archie and Lili are still too young for social media… we think constantly about how to embrace technology’s benefits while safeguarding against the dangers.” It’s the tightrope every modern parent walks—only theirs is watched by millions.
Maybe that’s the heart of it. A normal family outing under an abnormal spotlight. And it leaves a question hanging: are we reacting to the video—or to our feelings about the people in it?
