Prince Harry and Meghan Markle just gave the world the first glimpse of Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana, their six-month-old daughter, along with a picture of their hardly seen two-year-old son Archie. While it seemed likely that this first picture of Lili would elicit a feverish and media consuming reaction, the picture seems to fall flat.

 In an image that some have compared to an advert for jeans, the Sussex family looked joyous in a picture taken in the summertime. Lili was clearly the focus of the picture, with Meghan lifting her up and Harry and Archie looking in her direction as well. 

The children were cute and adorable, but both were only shown in profile. Lili could have been literally any child, since the public has never seen her before. In the picture, based on the angle, her face was hardly visible or discernable.

In a year or two, if a new picture was released, it would be impossible to discern if it’s the same child. Additionally, it once again encourages rumors that their children were conceived via surrogate or other birth shenanigans. 

Archie was similarly shown only in profile, and with noticeably bright red hair. In the most recent pictures Meghan released to “The Ellen Show,” Archie appeared to have dark auburn or brown hair. A two-year-old’s hair color shouldn’t change that much, especially brown to red or red to brown.

But as with everything regarding the Sussex’s, it’s incredibly manufactured so the image struggles to evoke a feeling of authenticity. Instead of looking like a natural family picture, where everyone is simply smiling at the camera, it’s overly produced and photoshopped.

What’s most surprising is how the picture seemed to fall flat in with the general public and even the media. While it made a bit of a splash, the photo failed to really capture the media’s attention.

On Fox News, the photo isn’t even on the main page. The conservative outlet instead focued on the Duchess of Cambridge’s charity Christmas concert.

To catch the new photo on CNN, you have to scroll down to the “In the Spotlight” section. Earlier in the day, it was even lower on the page.

The picture is even buried at the bottom of the People Magazine website, where it’s been beaten by Jessa Duggar Seewald’s youngest daughter, from the reality television shows “19 Kids and Counting” and “Counting On.”

At the top of the page is the Queen and her Christmas message. 

When it comes to British media, beyond Hello Magazine and The Daily Mail, the story has by-in-large been relegated to below the fold, i.e. the scroll.

It seems like, despite waiting months to get a glimpse, there’s not much interest in Lili. 

Meghan likely gambled that hiding Lili and releasing a picture at the exact, opportune time, would result in maximum exposure and impact. That’s just not the case. She miscalculated. 

The recent picture of the Cambridge family elicited far more of a response and media interest. There were articles about who the children looked like, what they were wearing and the family’s secret and clandestine trip to Jordan to visit where Catherine and the entire Middleton clan spent some years while the future Queen was still a child.

The public is invested in the Cambridge family and children. We want to see the latest picture to see how the children have grown and changed. There’s none of that same excitement when it comes to Archie and Lili. They are vague and enigmatic mysteries. We hear about them, but only see the back of Archie’s head or the side of Lili’s. 

As a result, the interest that Harry and Meghan could have capitalized on has dwindled. 

They’re so worried about their children’s privacy, but as it turns out, no one really cares.