Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s annual Christmas card has once again sparked a flurry of controversy, but this time, it’s taken an unexpectedly surreal turn.
Their latest festive effort, a seemingly AI-generated spectacle, has left Royal fans rolling their eyes so hard, one might joke they've nearly glimpsed their own brain cells disappearing. In Montecito, California, where the Sussexes reside in their self-proclaimed peaceful bubble, the couple unveiled their yearly holiday greeting—a tradition that has become less about warmth and cheer and more about raising eyebrows.
This year’s card included a collection of six photographs purportedly offering a rare peek into their "private" lives. Among these images, one photo of their children, Archie and Lilibet, stood out for all the wrong reasons. The picture shows the children running toward their parents, their faces turned away from the camera. While seemingly innocent, this image set off a storm of speculation online, with many questioning whether it was the product of clever photo editing—or something even less authentic. However, the true pièce de résistance was yet to come.
Enter the Sussex Squad—a group of fiercely loyal supporters dedicated to defending Harry and Meghan at every turn. Taking their devotion to new heights, the Squad thought it wise to create a faux Christmas card featuring AI-generated versions of Archie and Lilibet. What followed was a digital debacle for the ages.
At the center of the card was a black-and-white image of "AI Archie" and "AI Lilibet." Unfortunately, the two AI-rendered figures bore little resemblance to each other—or to reality. Lilibet appeared to have been yanked out of a bargain-bin fantasy novel, caught mid-leap in an outfit eerily similar to one from the Sussexes' real holiday card. She looked as though she were about to launch into orbit. Meanwhile, Archie, clad in cargo pants and a cable-knit sweater, struck a pose so unnaturally angular that even an Olympic gymnast might cringe.
But the oddities didn’t stop with the children. The family’s rescue beagles, Guy and Mia, also made an appearance—albeit in a state that can only be described as artistically tragic. One dog lay in the corner, seemingly defeated by life, while the other towered over it with a misshapen leg straight out of a horror movie. Together, they looked like products of a middle school art student’s nightmare. The AI glitches extended to the finer details: curved tiles under Lilibet’s feet, a strangely fading hairline on Archie, and the glaring absence of hands and feet—a hallmark of rushed AI design.
Adding to the absurdity was the discovery that the card had been created using Canva Pro. This detail only fueled the mockery, with critics pointing out that the digital holiday card looked like the result of a 10-minute crash course in graphic design. Observant fans were quick to call out the telltale signs of AI mishaps, slamming the Sussex Squad for trying to pass off the card as genuine. One commenter humorously noted that the "children" didn’t even look related, quipping that they looked exactly as one would expect: entirely artificial.
The saga didn’t end there. The bizarre card went viral, sparking a new wave of conspiracy theories. Some speculated that Harry and Meghan had "borrowed" children for the holiday season, with others going as far as to suggest the couple had rented kids to maintain their carefully curated image of privacy. For those who believe the Sussexes stage-manage every aspect of their public lives, this Christmas card was yet another example of their meticulous PR strategy.
Adding to the intrigue was the conspicuous absence of the Sussexes’ famous rescue chickens, a fixture of their brand and frequent co-stars in interviews. Fans joked about their mysterious disappearance, wondering if the chickens had been digitally erased or deemed too "private" to feature.
