Meghan Markle makes surprise appearance at Texas shooting memorial

The Duchess of Sussex places flowers at a makeshift memorial outside Uvalde County Courthouse. Photo / Getty Images

Meghan Markle has surprised fans by making an appearance at a Texas school shooting memorial.

The Duchess of Sussex was seen laying a bouquet of white roses with a purple ribbon outside Uvalde County Courthouse, located close to Robb Elementary School where 19 young children and two teachers were tragically killed in a mass shooting earlier this week.

With a bodyguard close by the duchess placed the bouquet under a cross for Uziyah Garcia, 10, reading: "You will be missed", according to the Los Angeles Times.

The duchess who was dressed casually in jeans, sneakers, a baseball cap and Princess Diana's $25,000 Cartier watch, looked solemn as she walked around looking at the memorials of the victims.

A spokesperson for the former Suits actress told People Magazine that the duchess took the trip in a "personal capacity" as a mother, to offer condolences and support in person to a community experiencing "unimaginable grief".

The duchess attended the memorial solo. Photo / Getty Images

The duchess who currently lives in California with her two children, Archie and Lilibet, and husband, Prince Harry, would have had to take a three hour flight to Uvalde, Texas.

The surprise appearance comes amid health fears for Thomas Markle, the duchess' father who suffered a "major stroke" and has been left unable to speak.

Markle was pictured arriving on an ambulance stretcher in Tijuana, Mexico, on Monday, reported The Sun. TMZ reported he had been transported across the border to a hospital in Chula Vista, California.

"Thomas couldn't actually speak to paramedics, and had to write down his symptoms on a piece of paper," reported TMZ.

The Duchess of Sussex's father wore an oxygen mask to help him breathe and was accompanied by paramedics.

Thomas Markle pulled out of Meghan and Harry's wedding in 2018 after he had a heart attack – and had to undergo surgery to repair the damage.

Megan Markle's half-sister Samantha Markle told Kiwi journalist Dan Wootton, "My father is recovering in hospital. We ask for privacy for the family, for his health and wellbeing. He just needs peace and rest. Godspeed. We are praying. He just needs some rest. It's a travesty how much he's been tortured and how much he's had to go through thanks to my sister's disregard the past few years. That is unforgivable."