Like mother, like daughter! Lilibet, 5, follows in Meghan’s footsteps as she wears gold bangle similar to Duchess’ favourite Cartier style in new birthday portrait

She’s the daughter of a Duchess who has a penchant for the sparkling things in life, and it appears that Princess Lilibet is following in Meghan’s footsteps.

The Princess turns 5 today, and Meghan shared two photographs on Instagram to mark the special occasion.

In the first photograph, Harry held Lilibet in his arms while Meghan lovingly smiled at her daughter, and in the second, the younger Sussex child was seen in the garden of the family’s £11 million Montecito home as she admired some flowers.

In both images, Lilibet sported a sundress, which she previously donned for a behind-the-scenes shoot for her mother’s lifestyle brand As Ever, along with a gold bangle with a white centre.

The elegant bracelet is a sure sign that the five-year-old has taken after Meghan, who regularly sports a similar trademark piece – her £7,050 Cartier Love Bracelet.

Lilibet will no doubt start dipping into her mother’s jewellery collection as she grows older, which the Duchess regularly showcases during public visits and via social media.

For instance, in her Netflix show, Meghan showcased £236,000 of jewellery while preparing sourdough biscuits and using ready-made puff pastry.

Unsurprisingly, her most valuable piece is her £120,000 three-stone engagement ring, which includes diamonds from Princess Diana’s personal collection.

Princess Lilibet, pictured alongside her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, wore a gold bracelet in an Instagram post shared to mark her fifth birthday

The five-year-old’s gold bracelet bares a resemblance to Meghan’s trademark Cartier Love bangle

Initially crafted by Cleave & Company, Queen Elizabeth’s trusted jeweller, the ring featured a simple gold band.

However, less than two years later, Harry commissioned Lorraine Schwartz to resize and reset the ring with a new diamond band, which Meghan first wore at Trooping the Colour in 2019.

Meghan stacked this on top of her £10,000 ($13,493) wedding band, which was crafted from Welsh gold and gifted to her by the late Queen, as in keeping with royal tradition.

Meghan was also seen wearing her eternity ring, which retails for £80,000 ($107,947), and first caught the eye of royal watchers when she first wore it in 2019.

The eternity ring, placed alongside her wedding band and engagement ring, holds deep personal meaning as it was a gift from Harry to mark their first wedding anniversary.

Crafted with conflict-free diamonds, the ring features the birthstones of Meghan, Archie and Harry, subtly set on its underside: a green peridot, green emerald and blue sapphire.

Meghan also wore her Lorraine Schwartz pinky ring, featuring a three-carat emerald-cut diamond, known for symbolising stability and strength.

On one hand, the former senior royal sported Princess Diana’s Cartier Tank Française watch, worth £17,800 ($24,020), which was gifted to her after she married Prince Harry. 

Another photo showed the Sussexes’ youngest child standing in the garden of the family’s Montecito home as she admired some flowers

The Duchess of Sussex is seen sporting her £47,168 Logan Holloway diamond tennis necklace in As Ever promo

She stacked this on top of her 18-carat gold Cartier Love bracelet, which retails for around £7,050 ($9,513). The bracelet symbolises eternal love with a unique closure that locks around the wrist, representing lasting commitment.

Meghan wore a pair of £2,090 ($2,650) earrings from Ariel Gordon made from high-polished gold, and a £4,310 ($5,500) Diamond Hex bracelet from Ariel Gordon featuring over 1.5 carats of round brilliant-cut diamonds set in solid gold hexagon-shaped links.

Lilibet’s latest birthday post comes after branding and PR experts told the Daily Mail that there has been a ‘noticeable shift in Meghan’s approach to featuring her children on public social media’ over the last year, adding it ‘reinforces the idea that As Ever is an extension of her life as a mother and homemaker’.

Like her older brother Archie, seven, Lilibet spent the first four years of her life shielded from the spotlight while growing up thousands of miles away from the Royal Family.

Such was the Sussexes’ dedication to privacy that they never followed up her first birthday portrait – depicting the angelic toddler enjoying the sunshine during a picnic at Frogmore Cottage – with any more official snaps that showed her face.

When she turned four, Meghan gave fans the first proper glimpse of Lilibet in a black and white photograph that clearly showed her eyes and the top half of her face.

Meghan also posted the now-famous video of her and Prince Harry dancing in a hotel room to induce Lilibet’s birth, with the Duchess twerking to Starrkeisha’s viral Baby Mama song.

Days later, she documented the family’s two-day Disneyland holiday on Instagram, including sharing the moment Lilibet and Archie met Elsa from Frozen, as well as a picture of the Duke enjoying a theme park ride with his daughter.

While Lilibet’s face was hidden in earlier photos, fans saw what she looked like in Meghan’s Valentine’s Day post.

The Instagram snap showed Harry smiling as he held the princess in his arms while Lilibet clutched a bunch of red balloons.

It sent fans into overdrive with people commenting on her red hair ‘like her father’ and her being ‘beautiful just like her daddy’.

Meanwhile, Archie’s face has not been seen in a photo since the Sussexes’ Christmas card in 2021.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have both advocated for stronger protections for children online, including backing a social media ban for under-16s brought in in Australia.

In April last year, the couple unveiled a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media and met families who believe social media played a part in the deaths of their youngsters.

Some five months later, Harry warned that the impact of social media on children is ‘one of the most pressing issues of our time’, as he spoke at a gala in New York.

At the same event, Meghan said she and her husband often discussed how they would protect their own children, seven-year-old Archie and Lilibet, four, as they grow older.