Meghan Markle has marked her 45th birthday today by sharing a series of never-before-seen pictures showing her celebrating by jumping into a pool.
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram to share the black and white images, with one showing her in a black swimsuit and sunglasses clutching a bunch of balloons, including some that say 'happy birthday', while jumping into the water. A second photo shows Meghan making a splash in the water, while still hanging on to the balloons. With the snaps, she writes: "Thank you for the birthday love!" followed by a balloon emoji.
Birthday at home in California
Meghan is believed to be spending her big day at home in California alongside husband Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
In recent weeks, she has made a string of public appearances in the US promoting Cookie Queens, a documentary about Girl Scouts in the US that she and Harry worked on as executive producers.
During a Q&A at one screening, she shared a piece of advice from Harry that he learned during his time in the Army, which helped her get through "really hard days". She told the audience: "I think so much of it, funny enough, I was thinking about something my husband told me ages ago, because we all go through experiences and life is full of surprises."
She added: "But, you know, he was a helicopter pilot in the British Army for ten years. And sometimes on really hard days, he was like, 'My love, you know, even if there's a storm happening, above the storm, the sun's always shining.' And that's a perspective that only comes from zooming out a little bit."
Promoting As Ever and recent UK trip
Meanwhile, she has continued to plug her lifestyle brand As Ever, appearing in promos on Instagram for her new product of blackberry spread and sharing a recipe for an ice-cream sundae, using her raspberry spread and flower sprinkles.
Last month, Meghan made her first significant trip to the UK in more than four years alongside Archie and Lilibet, and had a reunion with the King and Queen. Buckingham Palace confirmed the meeting took place at the King's country retreat of Highgrove, although Meghan made no public appearances during her time in the country and no photos of the meeting have been released.
Two weeks later, she took to Instagram to share a string of family snaps from the trip to both the UK and Portugal, revealing that the Sussexes had visited Althorp in Northamptonshire, the stately home in the grounds of which Harry's late mother, Princess Diana, is buried.
Family snaps and island visit
In one snap, Lilibet, five, is seen walking through the estate's famous tree-lined gardens, while Harry and seven-year-old Archie walk ahead carrying bouquets of flowers. Other photos posted by Meghan, set to the Cliff Richard tune 'Summer Holiday', show the Sussexes in swimwear spending time at the beach, as well as Harry throwing his daughter up in the air as they play in a swimming pool and enjoying time in Portugal, where they had been on holiday before heading to the UK.
It was later claimed the family also headed up to Scotland during their time in the UK, visiting a remote island owned by a billionaire hedge fund manager. The Sussexes are claimed to have visited Tanera Mor, the island said to have inspired the cult 1973 film The Wicker Man, which was bought by billionaire Ian Wace, co-founder of hedge fund firm Marshall Wace. Mr Wace bought the almost-deserted 800-acre island in 2017 for £1.7million and has reportedly ploughed £100million of investment into it to transform it.
Now, many of the buildings and the natural landscape have been restored, and the Taigh Mor Foundation now hosts around 500 guests a year who work in the likes of the Police and Armed Forces so they can enjoy what is described as the island's "calm and restorative" atmosphere.
It is believed Mr Wace is a friend of Harry's, with he and his former model wife Saffron Aldridge joining the Duke and Duchess at a Cirque du Soleil performance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2019. According to the Daily Mail, Harry is previously thought to have visited the island, where guests can help restore buildings, fish for mackerel and work in the kitchens and gardens.
