The detail on Meghan Markle's Instagram video that everyone missed

meghan markle smiling in blue coat
Meghan is a noted animal lover (Shutterstock)

The Duchess of Sussex kicked off 2025 with a return to Instagram.

Taking to the social media platform on New Year's Day, Meghan Markle opted to share her first post - a heartfelt reel captured by her husband, Prince Harry.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the 2024 Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Gala at L.A. Live Event Deck Top Floor Of The West Lot on October 05, 2024 in Los Angeles, California
Meghan joined Instagram on New Year's Day (Getty Images)

The carefree video showed the former Suits actress, 43, running across an empty stretch of beach near their family home in Montecito. Dressed in head-to-toe white, Meghan joyfully inscribed '2025' into the sand, before laughing and running out of shot.

Take a look in the video below...

Eagle-eyed viewers may have also spotted a handful of interesting details that largely went unnoticed on first inspection.

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While the mother-of-two's '2025' was written in perfect cursive writing, if you look closely, you'll also spot what appears to be her first attempt in the left-hand corner, just before she slows down to create her final version.

Meghan Markle's video shows that she attempted to write 2025 once before getting it right
Meghan Markle's video shows that she attempted to write 2025 once before getting it right (Instagram)

Meghan's second take shows that she wanted to perfect the video before sharing the creation with her followers.

Beyond this, a series of large footprints could be seen alongside Meghan's '2025'. Meghan was captured running barefoot in the clip, meaning that the mysterious footprints likely belonged to Harry who was behind the camera.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their engagement interview
Prince Harry filmed Meghan's first Instagram video (Getty Images)

Her post also had the comments section disabled. Instagram has a special feature that allows users to switch off commenting should they wish.

Meghan's reel ultimately proved a triumph with her followers. Among those hitting the 'like' button were several of the former actress's close friends including polo player Nacho Figueras, Kelly McKee Zajfen, Serena Williams and the photographer and friend behind her stunning black-and-white profile picture, Jake Rosenberg.

The portrait was captured by photographer Jake Rosenberg
The portrait was captured by photographer Jake Rosenberg (Jake Rosenberg)

Jake's striking image shows Meghan laughing and smiling outside in a white summer dress. She had her raven tresses down loose and accessorised with a simple necklace.

Since sharing her first post, Meghan has already amassed more than half a million followers.

Prince Harry holding baby Archie with Meghan Markle walking next to them
The couple welcomed Prince Archie in 2019 and Princess Lilibet in 2021 (Shutterstock)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stopped using their original Sussex Royal account in 2020 when they stepped down as senior royals. They used their account to announce the birth and name of their baby son Prince Archie, to promote their own work and that of charities, and release their so-called 'Megxit' statement.

Back in 2022, nonetheless, Meghan hinted that she would one day make a return to social media. During a 2022 interview with New York Magazine's The Cut, she shared: "Do you want to know a secret? I'm getting back … on Instagram."