Meghan Markle's Portugal Swimsuit Photo Sparks a Fresh Round of 'Cosplaying Diana' Accusations Online

A single beach photo from Meghan Markle's family vacation in Portugal has reignited a familiar debate on social media, with some users accusing the Duchess of Sussex of deliberately styling herself after her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, while others dismissed the comparison as overblown.

Meghan shared a photo carousel to Instagram on Wednesday, July 23, captioned "Summer Holiday," documenting a family trip to Melides, a coastal town in Portugal's Alentejo region that the Sussexes have visited regularly in recent years. Among the images was one showing Meghan in a black backless, high-cut one-piece swimsuit, walking along the beach as Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, ran ahead toward the water.

Where the comparison came from

The photo quickly drew comparisons to a similar look Princess Diana wore during a 1993 vacation to Nevis, taken just months after her separation from then-Prince Charles was announced. Diana had traveled on that trip with her sons, Princes William and Harry. Diana was also photographed wearing similarly styled, brightly colored and animal-print open-back swimsuits during a 1997 trip to Saint-Tropez, images that remain among the most widely circulated of her later public life.

On X, the account British Royaltea posted a side-by-side comparison of the two images, with a caption asserting that Meghan seemed "obsessed with cosplaying Diana." Another user shared a larger photo collage making the same comparison and wrote simply, "Sadly yes she does."

Not everyone agreed

The reaction on social media was far from unanimous. Some users pushed back directly on the comparison, arguing that a simple black swimsuit does not constitute deliberate imitation. One user wrote, "So she can never wear anything that is similar to Diana?" adding that "Diana wore some pretty basic clothes" and noting plainly, "It's a black one piece swimsuit." Those responses framed much of the criticism as overreach rather than legitimate evidence of intentional styling.

Still, critical commentary continued alongside the pushback. One user wrote, "I really dislike Meghan for this curated cosplay," while another asked more pointedly, "Does she want to be her or just have the popularity she had."

A pattern that predates this trip

This is not the first time Meghan's public appearance has drawn direct comparisons to Diana. In November 2025, Meghan appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar's December 2025/January 2026 Art Issue, a shoot photographed by Malick Bodian and styled by Carlos Nazario, which drew similarly pointed reactions online. One widely circulated image from that shoot showed Meghan sitting cross-legged and barefoot on the floor, a pose closely echoing a 1991 photograph of Diana taken by Patrick Demarchelier for Vogue. A separate black-and-white image from the same shoot, showing Meghan lounging on an oversized chair with her head resting on her hand, drew comparisons to a 1997 Mario Testino photograph of Diana taken for Vanity Fair.

That earlier round of criticism included commentary from political commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, who posted the images side by side on X and described Meghan in sharply personal terms as, in his words, "the creepiest, most sinister, most wretched person on the face of the earth." Newsweek reported that the broader online response to the Harper's Bazaar shoot included accusations characterizing Meghan's styling as a "sinister" imitation of Diana. It remains unclear how much creative input Meghan herself had over the specific poses and styling choices used in that shoot, since those decisions would typically involve the magazine's photographer and stylist as well.

Beyond the two magazine and vacation moments, commentators have also pointed to a February 2025 Instagram Story in which Meghan was shown watering the garden at her Montecito, California, home while wearing a purple Northwestern University crewneck sweatshirt, a look some noted closely resembled a sweatshirt Diana was photographed wearing during a gym visit in the final year of her life.

A separate controversy in the same photo set

Meghan's Portugal swimsuit photo wasn't the only image from Wednesday's carousel to draw scrutiny. A separate photo in the same post, showing Harry, Archie and Lilibet walking down a tree-lined path believed to be at Althorp, the Spencer family estate where Diana grew up, generated its own wave of criticism. Harry and Archie appeared to be carrying large bouquets of flowers in that image, fueling speculation that the family had visited Diana's grave, located on a small island within Althorp's Oval Lake. Neither Meghan nor Harry has confirmed whether the photo was taken during a visit to the burial site specifically. One X account, @unreMARKLEble, described that particular post as "disrespectful, exploitative, and gross."

Context around the trip itself

According to reporting from Town & Country, the family's stay in Melides continues a pattern of visits the Sussexes have made to the area for several years. People magazine reported in 2024 that the couple had purchased a home in Portugal, though the exact location has never been publicly disclosed. The Portugal leg of the trip preceded the family's higher-profile return to the United Kingdom, marking their first visit to Britain together in several years.

No official response from the Sussexes

As of this week, representatives for Meghan and Harry have not issued any statement addressing the swimsuit comparison specifically. The couple has previously responded to related criticism concerning their children's privacy in social media posts, but neither has commented publicly on the recurring comparisons drawn between Meghan's styling choices and those of Diana.

Given how quickly and repeatedly similar comparisons have surfaced following Meghan's public appearances over the past year, from the Harper's Bazaar cover shoot to this week's vacation photos, further scrutiny of her styling choices against Diana's is likely whenever new images are shared. For now, the swimsuit photo has become the latest flashpoint in an online debate that shows little sign of settling, split between those who see intentional imitation and those who view the comparisons as reading too much into an ordinary vacation photo.