Meghan Markle Accused Of Stealing Spotlight From Prince George's Birthday With 'Duchess Of Sussex' Paparazzi Photos

Meghan Markle has been accused by social media users of trying to steal the spotlight from Prince George's 11th birthday by stepping out with her handbag embroidered with "Duchess of Sussex."

New paparazzi photos taken of Markle over the weekend surfaced on Instagram and X, formerly Twitter, on Monday -- the birthday of Prince William and Kate Middleton's eldest child.

The images -- which appeared to have been first shared by the fan account Duke and Duchess of Sussex Daily on Instagram -- showed Markle leaving the Italian restaurant Tre Lune in Montecito, California, with "Father of the Bride" actress Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

The fan account said the photos were taken Sunday and credited a Brazilian fan page for Markle with providing the pictures.

The shots were reposted by users on X, formerly Twitter, where some questioned the timing of Markle's outing and paparazzi photos.

"Of course, as we know from previous royal birthdays, major occasions, and announcements, Meghan Markle will always try and steal the limelight with a pap stroll. And today is no exception seeing as it's Prince George's 11th birthday," one person wrote alongside the photos of Markle.

"Her lack of shame for attempting to compete with her niece and nephews is astounding. She's done it enough times [that] people know what she's doing and, incredibly, she keeps doing it," another claimed.

Some X users speculated that the photos were actually "old" but only released to coincide with Prince George's birthday.

"Meghan Markle must be so insecure of an 11-year-old Prince George. She released these photos that weren't taken recently since it's 11:30 am in California," one X user claimed.

"Old pictures. So desperate to upstage an 11-year-old. Pathetic," another alleged.

One person suggested that Markle was "mirroring Diana again" with her recent outfit.

Princess Diana famously wore a white shirt and jeans during a trip to Bosnia just weeks before she died in 1997. But unlike Markle's look, Prince Harry's late mother paired hers with a wide brown belt and loafers.

Amid the speculations surrounding her latest outing, Markle received praise from supporters over her style.

"Meghan looks so polished and sophisticated," one fan commented.

"She's a GODDESS," another praised. "I could never look this good wearing a white shirt and high waist jeans."

A third comment read: "She looks good and happy."

During her outing with Williams-Paisley, Markle looked effortlessly chic in an Anine Bing white shirt, high-rise straight jeans from La Ligne New York, Chanel ballet flats and Ray-Ban sunglasses, as identified by the Instagram account What Meghan Wore.

She paired the look with a Lorraine Schwartz bracelet, gold Cartier bangle and two necklaces: a gold collar necklace from Cartier and a necklace from Ariel Gordon with her children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's names engraved.

The former "Suits" actress also carried her black Dior handbag embossed with the letters "DSSOS," which is an abbreviation of Duchess of Sussex.

Markle was first seen with the bag in 2021, the year she and Prince Harry quit royal duties and moved to California, according to GB News.

Markle completed the look with her engagement ring, Welsh gold wedding band and the diamond eternity ring band Prince Harry gave her after she gave birth to their son Archie in 2019.

Meanwhile, Prince William and Princess Kate shared a new portrait of Prince George on Monday to mark his 11th birthday.

The black-and-white photo showed their eldest son looking dapper in a dark suit and white shirt.

"Wishing Prince George a very happy 11th birthday today!" the Prince and Princess of Wales captioned Prince George's latest photo.

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Meghan Markle