The subtle tribute Meghan Markle paid to Princess Diana during New York tour

Meghan Markle has given a subtle nod to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana by carrying a Dior bag named after her during her recent tour of New York.

Royals often use their sartorial choices as a way of paying tribute to family members and the Duchess of Sussex is no exception.

Over the weekend, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the Global Citizen Live event in New York City, and while the speech the couple gave promoting COVID vaccine equity were a talking point, so too were Markle's accessories.

As the couple left the event, the Duchess slipped a black coat on over her white Valentino shift dress, and picked up her black Dior bag.

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It was in fact Christian Dior's Lady D-Lite bag, which retails at £3,450 and is an iteration of the brand's Lady Dior bag.

Originally called 'Chouchou,' the Lady Dior bag changed its name in 1996 in honour of Princess Diana after she was seen regularly using it.

According to FT, the then-unnamed bag was gifted to Princess Diana in 1995 by the French first lady.

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It wasn't long before the royal started taking the black patent bag with her on her royal engagements, pairing it with several chic outfits on a trip to Argentina in November 1995.

The bag remains one of the brand's most instantly recognisable and popular pieces.

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There's a subtle difference between the late royal's bag and her daughter-in-law's rebooted version, however.

Close up images of the Duchess' bag over the weekend, lead royal fans to spot that she has actually had hers personalised, with 'DSSOS' - which we are guessing could be an abbreviation for the Duchess of Sussex.

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It isn't the first time the Duchess has paid tribute to her late mother-in-law. Last year, in an image to promote Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's series of TIME100 Talks, she wore a watch on her wrist that appeared to be identical to the Cartier Tank Française style beloved of the late Diana.

The Duke of Sussex’s mother, who passed away in 1997 aged 36, was pictured wearing it in the months before her death – including at a visit to Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, a Hindu temple in Neasden, London.

According to Hello!, the duchess has also inherited a ring once belonging to the Princess of Wales – which she wore on her 2018 wedding day – as well as a pair of earrings and bracelet, worn on the royal tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Fiji the same year.

Markle’s engagement ring also contains two stones from the collection left behind by Princess Diana.

In a 2017 interview with the BBC to mark her upcoming nuptials, she revealed: “Everything about Harry's thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Diana's stones] and obviously not being able to meet his mum, it's so important to me to know that she's a part of this with us.”