She was given her late grandmother’s nickname, but it appears Princess Lilibet has also inherited Diana’s love of water.
Sharing snapshots from her family’s European getaway, Meghan Markle, 44, documented the moment the fiery-haired royal was playfully tossed in the air by her father Prince Harry as the pair frolicked in a pool together.
It’s unclear whether the black-and-white photo, posted to Instagram last night, was taken during their trip to Portugal, or while staying at Diana’s childhood home of Althorp during their summer holiday.
But it’s clear from the photo that Lilibet, five, is enthusiastic about the water, just like her late grandmother, who was an accomplished diver and typically began her day by swimming 20 lengths in the pool at Buckingham Palace.
Before they flew to the UK, Meghan, Harry and their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet travelled to the idyllic coast of Melides for a sun-soaked getaway as the Duchess’s photos showed the family enjoying intimate dinners, playing in the ocean and browsing local homeware shops.
In one photo, the Duke of Sussex, who is a keen surfer, can be seen charging into the Atlantic, closely followed by his children as Meghan watched from behind. She was wearing a backless swimsuit that many felt was similar to a style favoured by Diana.
If Meghan echoed her late mother-in-law’s looks during the trip, it appeared Prince Harry channelled Diana’s fun-loving spirit as royal onlookers recalled the Duke’s trip to Nevis with his mother and older brother, Prince William, 33 years ago.
Princess Diana gracefully diving off Dodi Fayed’s yacht in St Tropez in 1997
Meghan Markle, 44, documented the moment the fiery-haired princess was playfully tossed in the air by her father Prince Harry as the pair frolicked in a pool together
Amid her separation from Charles, Diana took William and Harry, then aged ten and eight, on holiday to the Caribbean in 1993.
Joined by Diana’s friend Catherine Soames, the trio enjoyed an afternoon of bodyboarding as pictures showed the late Princess holding up a pink board while standing amongst the crashing waves.
In another shot, Harry was seen clutching the bodyboard while his mother walked through the water towards him.
‘As the windsurfing began, Diana, in a black one-piece costume, kept falling off her board in the strong wind,’ the Daily Mail reported at the time.
During the same holiday, the Daily Mail described how Diana ‘splashes around in the thundering surf of the Caribbean without a care in the world’.
The pictures hit the front pages in the UK, and when Diana returned home, she said: ‘That was the best holiday I’ve ever had.’
Earl Spencer, who hosted the Sussexes at his family’s estate during their time in the UK, has previously celebrated his sister’s love of swimming and diving with a nostalgic post on Instagram.
Lilibet was seen walking through an avenue of trees and hedges at Althorp, Princess Diana’s childhood home – with Harry and Archie strolling together up ahead appearing to hold bouquets
Meghan posted an image of herself lying on her front on a sun lounger with Harry’s uncle Earl Spencer in the background on right and his new wife Dr Cat Jarman. Meghan is petting her dog Mamma Mia, suggesting the rescue beagle has been travelling Europe with them
Harry runs towards churning waves in one of the photos, with Lilibet and Archie dashing behind him, while Meghan watches from the shore
In the snap, the British author and his sister, King Charles’s ex-wife, who died on August 31, 1997, after a car crash in Paris, are seen proudly displaying their swimming awards by the pool at their childhood home in Sandringham.
‘We were never out of that pool,’ the Earl revealed in the caption of his post, adding the hashtags ‘childhood memories, proud achievement and learning to swim’.
Starting his post, he wrote: ‘A long ago summer, by the swimming pool at our childhood home, Park House, Sandringham – Diana and I both proudly showing off our swimming badges (sewn onto our swimming costumes).
‘These were awarded (sparingly) by Mrs Lansdowne, a fairly terrifying but very gifted swimming instructor, who came to stay each year.’
Park House, in the Sandringham estate, is where Diana was born on July 1, 1961, when her family were renting it from Queen Elizabeth II.
The royal continued living there until she was aged 14 in 1976, when she moved to her family’s stately home Althorp House after her father John inherited his title, Earl Spencer.
Diana was a swimming and diving champion at West Heath Girls’ School, with her instructor previously noting she had ‘speed and style’.
She even came up with what became known as ‘The Spencer Splash’ as Diana perfected the art of a splash-free dive.
Amid her separation from Charles, Diana took William and Harry, then aged ten and eight, on holiday to Nevis in the Caribbean in 1993
Now it appears Prince Harry has passed on his mother’s love for the ocean to his own daughter, Princess Lilibet, who appeared to be just as comfortable in the water during her recent holiday.
Lili also joined her family for a poignant visit to Diana’s ancestral stately home in the UK, where she and Archie laid flowers at her grave.
After being unable to stay at Buckingham Palace, the Duchess of Sussex revealed to her 4.7million Instagram followers that the family stayed as guests of Harry’s uncle, Earl Spencer, at Althorp.
People, widely considered the Sussexes’ preferred publication in the US, reports: ‘The trip gave Archie and Lilibet the opportunity to spend time at a place so closely tied to their late grandmother, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 when Harry was 12.’
In one image taken by Meghan, Lilibet is seen walking through the Northamptonshire estate’s famous avenue of trees, close to the private island on a lake where Diana is buried.
Ahead of her are Harry and Archie, with all three carrying large bouquets to lay at Princess Diana’s grave and the nearby memorial.
Fans on X reacted to the heartfelt image, with one person writing: ‘This is a Beautiful way to honour their grandmother, Princess Diana’s memory.’
