Princess Lilibet is 4! Meghan Markle shares adorable unseen photos as she follows in Kate Middleton's footsteps

The Duchess of Sussex delighted fans as she shared two adorable, unseen photographs of Princess Lilibet to mark her fourth birthday.

Meghan Markle shared a new black and white picture of herself and her daughter hugging on what appears to be a boat on Instagram as a way to honour the special milestone.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex tend to keep their children, who are sixth and seventh in the royal line of succession, out of the spotlight and have made shots of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's faces public just a handful of times.

In this new image, only the top half of Lilibet’s face is on show, as well as glimpses of her fun popsicle-themed dress, which has been identified as a very affordable £29 design by Clover Baby and Kids.

The second photo in Meghan’s sweet social media post shows the Duchess cradling newborn Lilibet, who made her and Harry parents-of-two when she arrived in 2021.

Captioning her post, Meghan wrote, “Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives – and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!”

While Meghan Markle might be on the other side of the ocean from Prince Harry's estranged royal family members, her touching birthday tribute to Princess Lilibet is very similar to what Catherine, the Princess of Wales, has made something of a tradition.

Each year, royal fans eagerly await to see which unseen photo the Prince and Princess of Wales will share of their three children – Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis – to mark their birthdays.

The photos shared are usually taken by Kate herself, a nod to her talent and passion for photography.

Earlier this year, Princess Charlotte’s tenth birthday photo was believed to have been taken on Kate’s iPhone, proving how personal the moment was. Other intimate snaps from the Waleses over the years include a Father’s Day photo of the three children jumping on their dad, taken by Catherine.

It’s not known how the Sussex family plan to spend Lilibet’s fourth birthday, but last year, it was reported that Prince Harry and Meghan welcomed some of their Montecito neighbours for a star-studded bash.

Attendees at Lilibet’s third birthday party in 2024 were said to include Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, with their daughter Daisy.

Meghan and Harry have not shown many photos of either of their children over the years, although they have started to share rare clips of life at home since her return to social media.

Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born in California on June 4, 2021 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Unlike her older brother, Prince Archie, Lilibet was born after Harry and Meghan’s exit from royal life and their move to the United States in 2020.

Lilibet's arrival was shared on the Archewell Foundation website and revealed that the newborn was named after Queen Elizabeth's nickname, while her middle name honours the late Princess Diana.