The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will today celebrate the first birthday of their son Archie while under lockdown in the US, as royal fans hope for a new picture of the couple’s firstborn child.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor turns one today and fans have taken to Twitter to call for a photo of the youngster on his birthday – as is royal tradition.
The milestone is likely to be marked by just Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, in person.
The couple are in lock-down in their Los Angeles home with California governor Gavin Newsom having issued a ‘stay-at-home’ order in the state.
A royal expert said the couple plan to treat Archie to an ‘organic, sugar-free cake’, a splash around in their pool and a video call with the Cambridge children.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl revealed yesterday how the couple plan to celebrate Archie’s first birthday, telling OK! magazine: ‘The Queen will wish him happy birthday this week via Zoom as will the Cambridge children.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will today celebrate the first birthday of their son Archie while under lockdown in the US
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor turns one today and fans have asked for a photo of the youngster – as is royal tradition
‘They haven’t seen their little cousin in months so they’ve been looking forward to seeing how much he’s grown.’
Meanwhile she also claimed that while the family are busy settling into life in LA, the thought of having a ‘little brother or sister for Archie’ is ‘very much on the agenda’ as the couple are still considering having another child.
The young royal has experienced an eventful 12 months since he was born at London’s Portland Hospital – first living in a cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, then an exclusive home on Vancouver Island in Canada and now in the sprawling metropolis known as the City of Angels.
America is where they plan to bring up their son after walking away from the royal family in order to become financially independent, after their hopes of earning money while still supporting the Queen were ruled out.
A royal expert said the couple plan to celebrate Archie’s birthday with an ‘organic, sugar-free cake’, a splash around in their pool and a video call with the Cambridge children
Archie was born on May 6, 2019, and a few days after his birth his parents proudly showed him to the world, before the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh saw the infant for the first time
Archie was born on May 6 last year at 5.26am, weighing 7lb 3oz, and a few days after his birth his parents proudly showed him to the world, before the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh saw the infant for the first time.
Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker, was pictured at the royal gathering and she has been a constant presence in the Sussexes lives, and lives in Los Angeles where Meghan grew up and went to school.
Fans will be hoping the couple follow royal tradition and release a picture of Archie, who has rarely been seen in public.
One Twitter user, The Regal Watcher, said: ‘Alright, here’s hoping for we get a new photo of sweet little Archie tomorrow in celebration of his first birthday.’
But some on social media users don’t think the couple will release a photograph today.
One Twitter user said: ‘I think they’ll break the chain of releasing photographs of the royal children on their birthday.
‘They will deliver a thank you message to all their fans for the money raised in support of Archie, either a video message or a posted note on a social media site.’
He received his greatest exposure when the Sussexes took their son on his first royal tour, visiting South Africa last autumn when he was four months old.
The royal baby received a welcome kiss from Archbishop Desmond Tutu when Harry and Meghan introduced him to one of the heroes of the anti-Apartheid movement.
Archie made an impression with the Archbishop’s daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe, who joked the young royal favoured ‘ladies better’ when she caught him glancing in her direction and Meghan declared ‘he likes to flirt’.
Earlier in 2019 Archie was photographed in his mother’s arms while his father took part in a charity polo match.
Archie was born on May 6 2019 at 5.26am, weighing 7lb 3oz, and a few days after his birth his parents proudly showed him to the world. Pictured: Prince Harry with young Archie
Meghan and Harry are the subject of a highly anticipated book, due for publication in August, which its authors have said they want to be a ‘definitive story’ about the couple.
And in another development in their lives, the duchess lost the first High Court skirmish in her claim against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday over publication of a ‘private and confidential’ letter to her estranged father.
She is suing Associated Newspapers over an article which reproduced parts of a handwritten note she sent to Mr Markle, 75, in August 2018, three months after he was unable to walk her down the aisle following a heart attack.
The former Suits actress claims her father’s decision to make the letter public in February 2019 – days after he was ‘vilified’ by five of her closest friends in a US magazine – had breached her privacy, copyright and data protection rights in a case now dubbed ‘Markle vs Markle’.
Large parts of her case against Associated Newspapers were dismissed as ‘irrelevant’, ‘inadequate’ and ‘impermissibly vague’ by a top judge last week, including her claims of a malicious media ‘agenda’ against her.
Mr Justice Warby has also ‘struck out’ her allegations that journalists had acted dishonestly and had caused the rift between her and her estranged father Thomas by ‘digging up dirt’ to portray Meghan in a ‘negative light’.
He said in his judgment: ‘I have struck out all the passages attacked in the application notice.
‘Some of the allegations are struck out as irrelevant to the purpose for which they are pleaded.
‘Some are struck out on the further or alternative ground that they are inadequately detailed.
‘I have also acted so as to confine the case to what is reasonably necessary and proportionate for the purpose of doing justice between these parties.’