Entertainment

Meghan & Harry Unfollowed William & Kate On Instagram, But Not For The Reason You Think

by Hollee Actman Becker
WPA Pool/Getty Images News/Getty Images

I have never been able to keep up with the whole who-followed-who and who-unfollowed-who thing on social media. I mean, I barely have enough time to keep up with my own followers, let alone time to spend scrolling through other people's follow lists to see who likes them and who doesn't. But there are people who do this, you guys. Lots of 'em! And some of these people have figured out that Meghan and Harry unfollowed William and Kate on Instagram. As in, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are no longer watching every royal move of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on social. And, like, what the actual eff? Because I thought all the speculation about a feud among the Fab Four had finally been put to rest. But now this? This is major, you guys.

Or is it? It turns out the whole unfollowing sitch is probably not a sign that Meghan and Harry are throwing down the gauntlet. Yes, some big changes have gone down in the world of royal Instagram. Which, BTW, I would totally call "Rinstagram" if that wasn't already a thing. But there's actually a pretty legit, and important, reason why the expectant couple clicked that white button and turned it back to blue.

See, according to a May 1 post on Harry and Meghan's official @SussexRoyal Instagram account, the string of unfollows — the duo unfollowed Queen Elizabeth, too, you guys! — was actually done in honor of the month of May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month in the United States. Plus, May 13 through May 19 is Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK.

Here's the caption that was written beneath a photo collage on @SussexRoyal that featured images from a bunch of different Insta accounts that promote mental well-being:

To pay tribute to all of the incredible work people across the globe are doing in this space, we are hoping to shine a light on several Instagram accounts that promote mental well-being, mental fitness, body positivity, self-care, and the importance of human connection — to not just hear each other, but to listen. There are countless organisations doing amazing work for mental health — please consider the accounts we’ve highlighted as a small snapshot of this global support network. We are all in this together.

Pretty amazing, right? Now here's where they get into the story behind the whole unfollowing thing:

Each month we will honor this same concept and change the accounts we solely follow based on a different theme or cause. Please go to our homepage and click "following” to see each of the select accounts and find out more about their work. We invite you to explore the extraordinary stories of strength, and the commitment to kindness as seen in the above accounts.

Honestly, I really, really love this forward-thinking idea. So yeah, I went and checked out the 16 accounts these guys are currently following, and I'm happy to report they include some pretty amazing charities, such as Kind Campaign, Anxiety UK, Born This Way Foundation, Crisis Text Line, and Black Mental Health Matters.

Well done, Meghan and Harry! Thank you for using social media to bring awareness to mental health issues and encourage others to follow people who shine a light on those issues. I can't wait to see more of your inspirational posts.