Meghan Markle fights back tears during visit to Texas memorial for massacred children

Meghan Markle traveled to Uvalde, Texas on Thursday, May 26, to offer her condolences to the bereaved families who lost loved ones in the school shooting on Tuesday, May 24.

The Duchess of Sussex was photographed laying flowers at the makeshift memorial outside Uvalde Courthouse. A spokesperson said she visited "in a personal capacity as a mother." The 40-year-old is a parent to two children, son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 11 months.

The former "Suits" actress also offered her "condolences and support in-person to a community experiencing unimaginable grief."

Photos showed Meghan Markle fighting back tears as she visited incognito in jeans, a white T-shirt, and a baseball cap. According to The Express, the duchess also donated food at a community housing centre hosting a blood donation drive. She quietly dropped off two "large" bags filled with desserts, sandwiches, and drinks for the blood donors.

Locals admitted that they did not know it was the Duchess of Sussex until she had left. Gloria Conteras, one of the volunteers at the drive, said she had "no idea who she was." She recalled her conversation with the royal and said, "We were just talking about, you know, the situation and what happened what we were doing here. I told her about us giving out water to the people and feeding them."

She continued, "I even talked about my personal life, telling her about my son and my family and, you know, coming to Texas because she told me she was from Santa Barbara and I said, 'Well, you need to come to Texas!'"

Another volunteer, Georjean Burnell, said Meghan Markle "was just really sweet." She reportedly just "kind of walked in with her crew and started putting ice waters in the bucket with us and laying out chips for the people who were needing snacks before and after donating."

Burnell admitted, "It's funny, we didn't even know it was her until after she left and now we're so sad. I mean, to be honest, we thought she was our neighbor."

Meghan Markle visited the memorial which is just a short distance from Robb Elementary School, where the senseless massacre of 19 primary school children, between ages 9 and ten, and two teachers occurred. The gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Rolando Ramos, also shot his grandmother before he shot at passers-by outside the school and then opened fire in classrooms filled with students using an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a handgun.