Meghan Markle is expressing her grief over the tragic elementary school shooting … by making a surprise visit to the memorial in Texas honoring the slain teachers and students.

Meghan made the long trip from Montecito, CA to Uvalde, TX to pay her respects to those killed in Tuesday’s horrific shooting … leaving a bouquet of white roses at a makeshift memorial.

The shooting, which claimed the lives of 19 innocent children and 2 teachers, happened at Robb Elementary School … and the memorial Meghan visited is outside the nearby Uvalde County Courthouse.

Meghan walked around the memorial, which borders a square pond and features the names of the dead on white crosses with blue hearts.

The Duchess of Sussex wore jeans, a white shirt and a faded navy baseball cap … but didn’t exactly keep a super low profile.

As far as we know, Meghan has no direct connection to Robb Elementary or the small town of Uvalde, which is about 80 miles west of San Antonio.

While she’s getting criticized on social media for inserting herself into the tragedy … Meghan does have the same connection to the shooting as every American who is distraught over the mass shooting. The only obvious difference is she has the time and means to go there.