Meghan and Harry join Instagram (and already have 3m followers)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Instagram account has broken the record for gaining a million followers on the social network in the shortest time, according to Guinness World Records.

The royal couple joined Instagram on Tuesday under the decidedly horsey handle @sussexroyal and reached a million followers in just 5 hours and 45 minutes. Previous record holders include the Korean pop star Kang Daniel and Pope Francis.

For their first post, the couple shared a gallery of images showing them carrying out a range of wholesome and worthy activities. Why, there's Meghan greeting an elderly woman! Say, is that Prince Harry laying hands on an endangered elephant?

“Welcome to our official Instagram; we look forward to sharing the work that drives us, the causes we support, important announcements, and the opportunity to shine a light on key issues,” read the caption. “We thank you for your support, and welcome you to @sussexroyal.”

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The account's following now stands at 3.3 million, despite sharing just two posts so far. To put those figures in perspective, the official account for Prince Charles and Camilla (@clarencehouse) has 682,000 followers while Prince William and Kate's account (@kensingtonroyal) has 7.3 million followers. We mere mortals can't compete.

This is not Markle’s first time at the Instagram rodeo. The duchess previously had a personal account where she posted run-of-the-mill Instagram content with captions like “Tequila sodas + gorgeous sunset. We love you #Ibiza” or the quasi-inspirational “Sometimes you have to do something that scares you.”

She later closed her Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, in accordance with royal protocol.

Although we’re unlikely to be treated to candid shots of Markle sipping margaritas any time soon, royalists will likely be keeping an eye out for any baby-related content, as the duchess is due to give birth to her first child in the next month.