‘Dream girl’ Lilibet is five! Harry and Meghan mark their daughter’s birthday with new family portrait

Harry and Meghan celebrated their daughter Princess Lilibet’s fifth birthday with a new family portrait.

The photo, which shows Prince Harry holding Lilibet in his arms and smiling adoringly at the five-year-old with his mother, was shared with Meghan’s 4.6 million followers on Instagram.

Lilibet’s strawberry blonde hair fell on her shoulders, hiding her face from the camera.

Another photo showed the Sussex toddler standing in the garden of the family’s £11million Montecito home admiring flowers.

Meghan’s caption reads: ‘The girl of our dreams. Happy fifth birthday, Lili.’

In the photos, Lilibet is wearing a light yellow sundress, previously seen in behind-the-scenes shots of her mother’s lifestyle brand As Ever.

Looks like Meghan’s ‘mini me’ develops a style similar to his mother’s; In the photo, she was wearing a thin gold bracelet very similar to the Duchess’ £5,800 Cartier ‘Love Bracelet’.

Meghan first properly told royal fans about Lilibet on her fourth birthday. A black and white photo showing her eyes and the upper half of her face.

Lili was photographed as a toddler when the Sussexes posted a portrait she took during a cozy picnic at Frogmore Cottage to celebrate family friend Misan Harriman’s first birthday.

Lilibet was wearing a cute blue dress and had a white bow in her hair.

Another photo showed the youngest Sussex child standing in the garden of the family’s Montecito home, admiring the flowers.

The couple hosted an informal garden party at the royal mansion, complete with birthday cake, balloons, party games and picnic snacks.

Lilibet’s second cousins ​​Zara and Mike Tindall’s three children, Mia (eight), Lena (three), Lucas (then one), and Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly’s daughters Savannah, 11, and Isla (then 10) attended the party.

Prince Archie’s godfather Charlie Van Straubenzee and his brother Tom, Princess Charlotte’s godfather, were also invited, the Daily Mail reported at the time.

“It was a fantastic party and had everything you’d want from a child’s birthday party,” a source told The Sun. ‘The aim was for it to be very convenient and comfortable, for people to have the freedom to come and go as they please.’

Lilibet’s latest birthday post comes on the heels of the branding, with PR insiders telling the Daily Mail there’s been a ‘visible change in Meghan’s approach to featuring her children on public social media’ over the past year, adding that it ‘reinforces the idea that As Ever is an extension of her life as a mother and housewife’.

Like her seven-year-old older brother Archie, 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’ commitment to privacy that they never followed up her first birthday portrait (depicting the angelic child basking in the sunshine during a picnic at Frogmore Cottage) with any other official photos showing her face.

When Meghan turned fourShe also posted the now-famous video of herself and Prince Harry dancing in a hotel room to encourage Lilibet’s birth, while the Duchess twerked to Starrkeisha’s viral Baby Mama song.

Days later, she documented the family’s two-day Disneyland vacation on Instagram, including the moment Lilibet and Archie met Frozen’s Elsa, as well as a photo of the Duke strolling through the theme park with his daughter.

The social media blitz continued as Meghan paid tribute to her daughter on International Daughter’s Day, gave millions of followers a glimpse into her Halloween celebrations and released the Sussex family’s annual holiday card.

Harry, 41, is shown with his hands clasped protectively around Archie’s head. Father and son look at each other lovingly, both have a smile on their face.

Next to them on a bridge are Meghan and Lilibet. The Duchess leaned down to rest her forehead against her daughter’s as she held both hands.

In the dappled California sun, Lilibet’s face is covered with shoulder-length hair.

In the photos, Lilibet is wearing a light yellow dress that she has previously worn in behind-the-scenes shoots for her mother’s lifestyle brand As Ever.

The little princess has appeared on Meghan’s Instagram page with increasing frequency over the past year

Although Lilibet’s face was hidden in previous photos, fans finally saw what she looked like in Meghan’s Valentine’s Day post this year

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

In the Instagram photo, Harry was seen smiling while holding the princess in his arms, while Lilibet was seen holding a bunch of red balloons.

Her fans were extremely excited when people commented on her red hair being ‘like her father’ and ‘beautiful just like her father’.

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

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

In April last year, the couple opened a memorial in New York for young people who lost their lives due to the harmful effects of social media and met families who believed that social media played a role in the death of their young people.

Nearly five months later, Harry warned while speaking at a gala in New York that the impact of social media on children was ‘one of the most pressing issues of our time’.

At the same event, Meghan said that she and her husband often discuss how to protect their own children as they grow up.

Commenting on Lilibet’s increased frequency of appearances on Meghan’s Instagram, branding expert Megan Dooley told the Daily Mail there was a “notable shift” in the Duchess’ social media policy that could be linked to her brand.

The head of London-based TAL Agency said: ‘We have certainly seen a noticeable change in Meghan’s approach to featuring her children on public social media, especially when we compare this with her and Harry’s previous commitment to privacy.

‘But a closer look reveals that these appearances, rather than being casual and unplanned, are highly selective and deliberate.’

Rather than interpreting this as a ‘reversal of their privacy-focused stance’, Megan suggested it was a ‘strategic recalibration of what they publish’.

She added: ‘Meghan is allowing more glimpses into their family life from behind the curtain – hand-picked, of course – to support the warm and aspirational positioning of her As Ever lifestyle brand, which is rooted in home, motherhood and authenticity.’