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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends a reception for friends and family of competitors of the Invictus Games© Samir Hussein,getty

Meghan Markle is a snow queen in very different New Year's Eve photo before meeting Prince Harry

The Duchess of Sussex celebrated in style before her life changed forever...

Diane Shipley
Senior Online Writer
December 31, 2023
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Meghan Markle will likely be ringing in the New Year on Sunday from her Montecito home with husband Prince Harry and their two children, Prince Archie, four and Princess Lilibet, two

But shortly before she and Harry met, the former actress enjoyed New Year in the snow, as she celebrated the dawn of 2016 in Iceland. 

As a short unearthed clip from her former Instagram account shared on social media shows, Meghan smiled as she held a glass of champagne up to the camera, wrapped in winter white with snow falling onto her loose brunette locks. 

Meghan celebrated New Year's 2016 in Iceland
View post on Instagram
 

She also posed in the snow-covered landscape under a sign reading Town of Elves, wearing ripped jeans and a black top and jacket with sunglasses, her hair tied back and chunky winter boots on her feet. 

Meghan had originally captioned the images: "Happy New Year from #Iceland! 2016, what a pleasure to meet you, darling. Cheers to another amazing year to come…" 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry walking hand-in-hand on an athletics track© Karwai Tang/WireImage
Meghan and Harry in the Netherlands in 2022

The star sparked excitement earlier in 2023, when it appeared that she had re-joined Instagram, having deactivated her popular account and blog, The Tig, before her engagement and closed her joint account with Prince Harry when they stepped back as senior working royals at the start of 2020. 

WATCH: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's huge Christmas tree at their Montecito mansion

An Instagram account with the handle @meghan racked up 125,000 followers this summer, despite not sharing any photos yet. It was initially set up in 2022, around the time Meghan launched her now-defunct Archetypes podcast, which was also the time when she told The Cut in an exclusive interview: "Do you want to know a secret? I'm getting back...on Instagram." 

"Meghan was set to go live on Insta, but changed her mind shortly before she launched her Archetypes podcast, so it’s just sitting there now," gossip column Page Six reported a source saying in the summer of 2023. 

Prince Harry looks at Meghan Markle as she laughs in a white coat© Getty
The couple announced their engagement in 2017

Before she joined the royal family, Meghan closed her personal account (@meghanmarkle) and after her marriage, she initially shared the handle @kensingtonroyal with Prince Harry and the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton. 

In 2019, around the time Archie was born, Meghan and Harry launched their @sussexroyal page, which was then shut down the following year.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet© Netflix
Prince Harry and Meghan with their children Archie and Lilibet

While the mother-of-two may not currently be active on social media, she and her husband do share a passion for travel and recently enjoyed a sun-soaked pre-Christmas break with their children. 

The pair took a low-key trip to Costa Rica earlier in the month, where they were joined by Archie and Lilibet. In photos obtained by CRHoy, a news publication based in the central American country, the Duchess of Sussex was seen carrying her young daughter, whose face was hidden from view, but had her blonde hair on full display. 

Harry and Meghan smiling at Invictus Games© Getty
Harry and Meghan enjoyed a pre-Christmas holiday with their children

Meghan looked classy in a sleek black dress and sunhat, while Lilibet was in a white dress with her blonde locks styled in a ponytail. Another photo published from the trip saw Harry, Meghan and Archie sitting together in a golf cart, with the young Prince on his father's lap.

LISTEN: Learn all about how the royals celebrated Christmas in our Right Royal podcast...

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