Login Thursday, Sep 13th 2018 3PM 30°C 6PM 29°C 5-Day Forecast Meghan's mysterious poop-scooping twin! Woman sets social media alight after claiming to have photographed the Duchess picking up after her dog - as officials DENY the lookalike is her

• Reporter Lisa Petrillo took to Twitter on Wednesday to say she had seen Meghan, 37, walking a dog outside the private residence she shares with Prince Harry, 33 
• Petrillo shared a photo of a woman who looks just like the Duchess of Sussex dressed head to toes in black and holding the dog's leash
• In the snap, the woman seems to be getting ready to pick up the dog's waste
• The reporter said Meghan 'couldn't have been sweeter', implying that she interacted with her 
• Palace sources have fervently denied that the woman in the picture is actually Meghan despite the similarities in appearance
• Meghan previously rescued two dogs: a beagle named Guy who followed her to London from Canada, and Bogart, a Labrador-shepherd mix who stayed behind 
• Do you know this woman? Email charlie.lankston@mailonline.com 

An image that purports to show Meghan Markle preparing to clean up after her squatting dog has sparked a firestorm of excitement on social media - after palace sources fervently denied that the lookalike in the picture is actually the Duchess.    

CBS reporter Lisa Petrillo took to Twitter on Wednesday to share details about the encounter she says she had with the Duchess of Sussex, 37, after spotting someone she thought to be the royal walking a dog outside the private Kensington Palace residence she shares with Prince Harry, 33.

Petrillo shared a photo of a woman who looks just like Meghan, dressed head to toes in black and holding the dog's leash.

Controversy: CBS reporter Lisa Petrillo sparked an online frenzy when she posted this image which she claimed shows Meghan Markle preparing to pick up after her dog  

In the snap, the woman seems to be getting ready to pick up the dog's waste. 

'So incredibly enough, walking by @kensingtonroyal — we spotted this beautiful  woman with a familiar air outside the entrance to the private residence where Harry and Meghan live. MEGHAN!?' Petrillo tweeted on Wednesday, adding: 'Her dog was doing his business.'

Petrillo, who concluded her tweet with the hashtag #princessespickuppooptoo, said Meghan 'couldn't have been sweeter', implying she interacted with her — and presumably got a good look at the woman in her snap.

That woman, who is wearing black pants, black tennis shoes, and a black hat in the photo, seems to have similar facial features to Meghan's, and a similar build.

However, TMZ quoted 'a source at the palace' as saying that Meghan is not the woman in the photo and that the dog isn't hers, while The Sun also reported that 'royal sources strenuously denied' that the image is of Meghan. 

DailyMail.com has also reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.  

But after facing some harsh accusations from social media users who suggested that the image might have been doctored, Petrillo replied to say that she still believes the woman in the photo to be Meghan - and that she was not the only one to catch sight of her. 

'I’m here on vacation . NOT working . spotted her - as did many of us,' she replied to a tweet claiming that the photo was not authentic. 

'we were thrilled - don’t care if you don’t believe. sorry you’re so negative . it was just a sweet moment I shared . more important things to worry about. wow. [sic]' 

Social media has certainly been left split over the image - with furious debate breaking out over the true identity of the woman photographed.  

Pets: Meghan Markle, 37, previously rescued two dogs: a beagle named Guy who has followed her to London from Canada, and Bogart, a Labrador-shepherd mix who stayed behind

Love: Back when she still maintained a public Instagram profile, Meghan was fond of sharing photos of herself with her pooches. She's pictured with Guy

On the go: Meghan was once pictured with Bogart in her lap while she sat behind the wheel of a car

Pup-loving Meghan previously rescued two dogs: a beagle named Guy who has followed her to London from Canada, and Bogart, a Labrador-shepherd mix who had to stay behind. Neither Guy nor Bogart looks like the dog in the picture.

While Meghan and Harry did adopt a dog together, their new pooch is a black Labrador believed to be named Oz, who presumably looks much different from the pet in the photo — though it's always possible that the pair decided to adopt an additional furry friend. 

Meghan previously referred to Guy as her 'absolute world' and regularly shared photos of herself with her pets when she still maintained a public Instagram presence.

She gushed about Bogart in a 2013 with BuzzFeed, telling the website: 'He's a little rescue mutt from SPOT in L.A. and is nine months old. He's adorable. Ellen DeGeneres was there when I was looking at him and told me I had to take him home. So I did. It's like if Oprah told you to do something, you just do it!'

Guy was injured shortly after Meghan's engagement to Prince Harry was announced in November 2017, the Mail on Sunday revealed earlier this year. While it remained uncleared how the injuries might have occurred, the beagle was believed to be receiving in Surrey.

Eagle-eyed fans were convinced they saw Guy riding at the back of Queen Elizabeth II's car in May this year. 

The publication of the mysterious photo comes as reports have emerged saying Meghan is having a difficult time deciding who she can trust these days. 

Since the duchess said 'I do' to Prince Harry earlier this year, relationships she had in her pre-Harry days have fallen by the wayside as she struggles to know whom she can let in. 

Who'll blab? A source told People this week that Meghan Markle is finding it hard to know who to trust' since her engagement to Prince Harry

New life: The duchess has kept her mom close. Doria Ragland recently moved to the UK to be closer to her

'Meghan has lost touch with some of her close friends from before the wedding, which has been tough,' a source told People in its new issue.

'She's finding it hard to know who to trust.'

According to the magazine, Meghan has cut her circle of friends down to a select few whom she knows are trustworthy. 

With so many leaks to tabloids — and her own family frequently talking to the press about her — it makes sense that she would limit her relationships to people who won't blab to news outlets as 'anonymous sources' with inside scoop.

These trustworthy friends include her makeup artist, Daniel Martin, and her stylist BFF Jessica Mulroney — whom she secretly flew out to in Toronto in August to visit. 

'There's a small group of us that check in with her and see how she's doing, but she's still the same person,' Martin told People. 

Being guarded is hardly new for members of the royal family. Earlier this year, royal observer Patricia Treble told Vanity Fair, 'You look at all the senior royals, and they’re incredibly careful about whom they’re friends with. They end up having lots of "acquaintances," or people who "know them."' 

Another royal-watcher, Emily Nash, told the magazine that post-wedding, Meghan would be 'getting used to a more discreet social life . . . she is still going to be seeing and speaking to her most trusted friends just as before.'