Instagram forced to apologise following backlash from Meghan Markle's fans after making error

Bosses at Meta have issued a formal apology to Meghan Markle, after a technical error on Instagram cast a shadow over her recent Netflix series announcement.

The fault was first flagged by Meghan's fan-base, who criticised the photo-sharing app for their colossal mistake.

For those out of the loop with the 43-year-old's latest news, Meghan made a shock return to social media following a three year break.

With a new handle @meghan, the mother-of-two kicked off the New Year by sharing a video of herself - filmed by husband Prince Harry - running along a California beach, before penning the digits '2025' into the sand, hinting at an exciting 12 months to come.

And it didn't take long for the former Suits actress to make her first major announcement of the year, revealing she was set to front her very own Netflix lifestyle series.

Titled With Love, Meghan, the show claims it'll give viewers a chance to 'join Meghan in the kitchen, garden — and even at the beehive', and features celebrity guests like Mindy Kaling, Roy Choi, Alice Waters, and more.

The incoming series was announced with an exciting new trailer, posted directly to the Duchess' new account.

"I have been so excited to share this with you!" she captioned the post. "I hope you love the show as much as I loved making it.

"Wishing you all a fantastic new year! Thanks to our amazing crew and the team @netflix.

Instagram has issued the Duchess with an apology (Leon Bennett/FilmMagic)

"Beyond grateful for the support - and fun! As ever, Meghan."

Sadly, however, according to reports, the Duchess' announcement didn't go entirely as planned, with Instagram having accidentally restricted searches for the hashtag '#WithLoveMeghan'.

After the Duchess' fans pointed out that searches had been blocked due to 'sensitive content', the social media site - owned by Meta, which is also the Facebook boss - were quick to correct it.

Issuing an apology, the tech firm have since explained: "We blocked people's ability to search for terms related to potential child safety risks.

"In this case, the search term #WithLoveMeghan was restricted in error and has now been corrected."

The Duchess' trailer has also prompted royal discussion in other ways, with one commentator believing that 40-year-old Harry's lack of presence in the clip is a sign of what is to come for the couple, amid their rumoured 'professional separation'.

An insider source told Hello a few months back: "Harry and Meghan have consistently pursued solo ventures in connection with their individual interests, but remain deeply committed to their joint efforts through Archewell [their joint charity, formed in 2020].

Meghan and Harry are rumoured to be 'professionally separating' (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for W+P)

"Together they have exciting projects in the pipeline, all driving forward their shared mission for positive global impact."

And last week, royal expert Grant Harrold - who spoke to Tyla on behalf of Slingo - explained that Harry's decision to allow Meghan to take centre-stage in the streaming service production was likely conscious.

"This is the way to do things, if they want to do media and television," Grant firstly gushed.

"Harry appears briefly, and I think it would be a bit weird if he didn't, but this might show that he is taking a step back from them as a couple work wise and focusing on his own projects while Meghan is working on her own brand."