The Prince and Princess of Wales are “not in competition” with Meghan Markle on social media, a leading royal commentator has claimed.

The Duchess of Sussex returned to Instagram earlier this year (Image: Getty)

The Prince and Princess of Wales are “not in competition” with Meghan Markle on Instagram a leading royal commentator has claimed, following Meghan’s return to social media at the start of the year.

Royal commentator, Richard Fitzwilliams addressed speculation about whether Prince William and Princess Kate would follow Meghan’s new and popular Instagram account, launched on New Year’s Day under the handle ‘@meghan’. At the moment, the account has not received a ‘follow’ from the Waleses.

The Duchess has already gained 1.5million followers, is following zero accounts, and has uploaded three posts.

Speaking to GB News, Richard said: “The last thing that William and Kate are interested in just at this moment are the activities of the Sussexes. Following Meghan on Instagram may have been possible, but they’re not in competition with the Sussexes.”

William and Kate currently do not follow Meghan on Instagram (Image: Getty)

The royal commentator acknowledged the significant media attention the Sussexes receive stating “It’s perfectly true that the Sussexes do attract enormous publicity”, but maintained there was little overlap between the couples’ endeavours.

He added: “In terms of Kate and William and what they do, I don’t think there’s an overlap there.”

Meghan and Harry made a recent joint appearance as they visited the World Central Kitchen in Pasadena, California, to help distribute food and supplies to victims of the California wildfires.

On January 10, the couple were pictured on site, thanking first responders including Los Angeles County firefighters and police, and were pictured with the Pasadena Mayor, Victor Gordo.

The Mayor told Fox 11 News: “It’s great people, great personalities and great heart for them to come out here and meet with the first responders, meet with the people who were affected. It’s very important.”

He added that Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, “really buoyed the spirits of the first responders”.

Meghan returned to Instagram using the handle @meghan (Image: Getty)

The wildfires in Southern California, have tragically claimed the lives of 16 people. Law enforcement officials expect the death toll to rise once weather and fire conditions allow dogs and detectives into the burn zones.

Harry and Meghan previously issued a statement and urgent plea for help on their website: “In the last few days, wildfires in Southern California have raged through neighborhoods and devastated families, homes, schools, medical care centers, and so much more – affecting tens of thousands from all walks of life.”

The couple, who live in Montecito, California, also posted a series of links on their Sussex.com website to various charities people can help with, and urged people to “open their homes” to those evacuated.

Meghan has not posted on social media [at the time of writing] about the wildfires, but so far has posted a New Year’s greeting, her upcoming Netflix show trailer, and a tribute to her beloved dog who passed away.