Meghan Markle faces backlash over 'insensitive' Paris video near Princess Diana crash site

Meghan Markle’s solo trip to Paris has sparked controversy after the Duchess of Sussex shared a short Instagram clip showing her being driven past the site of Princess Diana’s fatal 1997 car crash.

The Duchess, 44, made a surprise appearance at Paris Fashion Week on Saturday, attending Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli’s much-anticipated debut for Balenciaga. Dressed in head-to-toe white, Meghan’s elegant look quickly turned heads as flashbulbs popped around her.

Later that night, she posted a video to her 4.2 million Instagram followers, showing her relaxing in the back seat of a chauffeur-driven car as it sped along the banks of the Seine.

The clip, set to the French track Viens On Essaie, featured her chic black stilettos resting on the opposite seat, a seemingly harmless aesthetic moment until viewers recognised the route.

Critics quickly pointed out that Meghan’s car passed Paris’s Pont Alexandre III and appeared to head toward the Pont de l’Alma tunnel, the same area where Princess Diana tragically died in a car crash in August 1997.

Royal watchers and social media users condemned the post as 'tone-deaf' and 'insensitive'.

One X user wrote, “Please tell me that’s not real… she didn’t actually do that, did she?”

Another commented, “Anyone whose husband’s mother died there should treat that area with respect and quiet reflection.”

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told DailyMail.com that Meghan’s choice was 'utterly bewildering' and 'beyond stupid', adding that sharing a video linked to such a tragic event defies belief.

Prince Harry has previously written about the emotional weight of that very tunnel in his memoir Spare, recalling how he once asked a driver to take him through it at the same speed as Diana’s car for 'closure'.

This marked Meghan’s first visit to Europe since the 2023 Invictus Games in Germany. Without Harry by her side, she was accompanied by longtime friend Markus Anderson, Soho House’s global membership director.