Archie’s Fourth Birthday: A Low-Key Affair at Home

Archie, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, celebrated his fourth birthday with a small gathering at their $11 million mansion in Montecito, California.

Sources close to the couple confirmed that Archie enjoyed a private celebration with his parents and cousins, as well as some celebrity friends.

Meghan baked a lemon cake using fruit from their garden to mark the occasion.

Prince Harry attended King Charles' coronation on Saturday but left immediately after the service to fly back to Los Angeles to be with his son.

He boarded a 3:45 pm flight and landed in LA at 6:55 pm local time.

The drive from the airport to Montecito takes around 90 minutes, but Harry was determined to be back in time to tuck Archie into bed.

While it is unclear which celebrities attended Archie's birthday party, a source revealed that some of their friends are celebrities.

Amongst those thought to be invited were Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi, Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, and Serena Williams, who is pregnant with her second child.

However, it was reported that Perry attended King Charles' coronation, and Bloom flew to Japan for work.

Missan Harriman, a friend of the Sussexes, posted a screengrab from their Netflix documentary, showing a baby Archie touching a photo of his late grandmother, Princess Diana, on Instagram.

She wished Archie a happy birthday and captioned the photo, “Wishing you the happiest of birthdays, Archie,” seemingly shading the royal family on King Charles' third coronation day.

Archie's birthday coincided with King Charles' coronation day, and many royalists remembered Princess Diana, who would have been crowned queen had she not died in a car accident in 1997.

The Duke of Sussex arrived in the UK on Friday and attended his father's coronation solo on Saturday.

The Sussexes' decision to keep Archie's birthday party low-key was a wise one, as experts had shared concerns that his star-studded attendees could overshadow the ceremony.

Lisa Gachet, an LA-based author who teaches children's etiquette classes at the high-end Montecito club, explained that in Montecito, celebrities are royalty.

Oprah Winfrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Serena Williams, Katy Perry, and Orlando Bloom are some of the big names in the area with children of similar age to Archie.

Despite the distance between Archie and his extended family, the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to send him a birthday present, despite not having seen him since early 2020.

The insider claims that Archie barely knows his family, and King Charles is reportedly sad at having only met him a handful of times.

In conclusion, Archie's fourth birthday was a low-key affair at home, with his parents, cousins, and some celebrity friends.

Prince Harry left King Charles' coronation immediately after the service to be with his son, and despite reports of star-studded attendees, the party remained intimate.

The Sussexes' decision to keep the celebration private was a wise one, given the potential for it to overshadow the coronation.

Despite the distance between Archie and his extended family, the Prince and Princess of Wales are expected to send him a birthday present.