Royals (Commonwealth Union)_Almost one year to the day after their fairytale wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex introduced their firstborn, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor to the world.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle looked over the moon and totally in love with their new son as they greeted photographers at Windsor Castle. The royal couple introduced their newborn just a few days later, to Their Late Majesties, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
Fast forward to the summer of 2021 when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became parents once again, welcoming baby Lilibet Diana in June of that year. The family had upped and moved from England to the US in the time between Archie’s birth and becoming a big brother, after the Duke and Duchess stepped down from their duties as senior working members of the royal family.
The family of four now reside in Montecito, California, in a gorgeous mansion that is estimated to be worth around $30 million mark. Although since their move, the family have often kept their everyday lives to themselves, a Netflix documentary, a televised interview with Oprah Winfrey and an explosive memoir later, royal fans have come to learn more about Harry and Meghan and their relationship with the royal family at large.
Also read :
‘Childless by Choice’ the new norm amongst young UK adults
But still, less is known about little Archie, now aged four, and Lilibet, aged two.
Prince Archie
Prince Archie who was born on 9th May 2021 at the Portland hospital in London is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. Archie was not born with his royal title. Archie was born instead, with the styling: Master Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
It was reported at the time, that the Duke and Duchess had decided to opt away from the entitlement of a royal title. Meghan, however, stated in a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey that she was told that changes would be made to remove said entitlement.
After the passing away of late Queen Elizabeth II, and King Charles III’s accession to the throne in September 2022 Archie, as a child of the son of a monarch, became entitled to use the title ‘Prince’ and be styled as His Royal Highness and Lilibet Diana became Princess Lilibet in September 2022.
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry wrote about his desire to have a family and, not an institution, and stated how he hopes his children, despite their move overseas and strained relationship with the royal family, will have a connection to his relatives since he would love nothing more than for their children to have relationships with members of his family, which brings him great joy.
During his Apple TV+ series, The Me You Can’t See, it was also revealed that Archie has a photo of his late grandmother, Princess Diana, hanging in his nursery, and that his first words were “mama”, “papa” and “crocodile.”
Prince Harry shared this anecdote while addressing the crowd at the Invictus Games last year: “When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot, a helicopter pilot obviously.
Princess Lilibet
Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 4th June 2021 and while her older brother was born in the United Kingdom, Lilibet was born in Santa Barbara, California.
The birth of their second child was different in many ways. There was no statement by the palace to reveal the news specifically, instead, Prince Harry and Meghan shared a statement on their Archewell Foundation website.
Lilibet is the nickname that Queen Elizabeth had as a child which the late monarch picked up in her younger years due to her difficulty pronouncing her full name, and it is an affectionate name that stayed with her and was of huge sentimental value.
It was used only by a handful of people closest to the Queen; her parents King George VI and the Queen Mother, her late sister Princess Margaret, her husband Prince Philip and a few friends.
Lili’s first birthday was perfectly timed with the celebrations around the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations and it was during this time that the Sussexes travelled to the UK and introduced Lili to Her Late Majesty for the first time.
During a private birthday party at their former home, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, the Sussexes released an official photograph of Lilibet playing on the grass. Since then, footage of the little one has been seen in their Netflix documentary and in the occasional photograph of Lilibet with her parents.
