Meghan Shares Bagpipe Banter and Scottish Highland Clues from the Sussexes' Summer
Meghan Markle posted behind-the-scenes footage from a Canadian gala this week that may also have quietly confirmed a family holiday in the Scottish Highlands.
The Duchess of Sussex, 45, shared a clip to her personal Instagram account, @meghan, from the David Foster Foundation's 40th anniversary gala at the Victoria Conference Centre. In the footage, she can be heard saying: "My husband loves bagpipes!" Prince Harry, 41, chimes in with "Where are mine?" before clarifying: "Pipes and drums, just to be clear." Hello! Magazine
The gala was a Friday-night date night for the couple, who attended in formal dress. Meghan wore a strapless navy gown by Canadian design house Greta Constantine, paired with sapphire-and-diamond earrings.
But the bagpipe exchange is not the only clue the Sussexes have dropped about their summer travels. A recent Instagram post from Meghan, labelled "summer holiday," showed a remote landscape of mountains and what appeared to be a loch, prompting speculation that the family had visited Scotland. Hello! Magazine reported that Harry and Meghan are believed to have recently visited the Scottish Highlands as part of a UK summer trip.
According to the Daily Mail, as cited by Hello!, the couple took their two children — Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5 — to a private Scottish island owned by a hedge fund tycoon. The island is believed to be Tanera Mor, the largest of the Summer Isles, sitting off the northwest coast of Scotland roughly 150 miles from King Charles's Balmoral estate.
Tanera Mor was bought in 2017 by billionaire Ian Wace, 63, for £1.7 million and has since received a £100 million investment from its owner. A 2021 blog described the island as peaceful and secluded, with six holiday cottages, a tiny post office, a cafe, and no cars.
Earlier in the summer, Meghan shared a broader set of family photos from the holiday. People magazine reported on July 23 that the Duchess posted pictures of Archie and Lilibet on Instagram, including one of Archie in what appeared to be an aircraft cockpit and another of Lilibet doing a pool flip. Page Six, reporting the same day, said the images came from the family's travels in Portugal and the English countryside, including photos taken at Princess Diana's childhood home.
This is not the only sign that the Sussex children may be stepping further into public view. A January 2026 report from Hello! Magazine noted that Harry and Meghan had dropped a clue that Archie and Lilibet could take on a more public role going forward.
The summer has also had a practical side. The couple interrupted their holiday with the children to announce plans for a tour of Colombia, as Hello! Magazine reported in August 2024.
For now, though, the story is bagpipes, a navy gown, a remote Scottish island with no cars, and a mother sharing glimpses of a summer that stretched from the Highlands to the English countryside to the west coast of Canada.
