Prince Harry and Meghan marked a special occasion by taking their children, Archie and Lilibet, to Disneyland for a combined birthday celebration, sharing the joyful moments on Instagram.
Lilibet, who will celebrate her fifth birthday on June 4, was delighted to be surrounded by Disney princesses. A touching photo captured her warmly embracing Cinderella.
The family also shared clips of Lilibet meeting Princess Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. Meanwhile, Archie, who turned seven on May 6, playfully hid behind a pillar while his enthusiastic mother watched the encounter.
However, Lilibet showed less enthusiasm for meeting Darth Vader and the Star Wars stormtroopers, opting to stay close to her parents.
A source close to the Sussex family told People, the couple’s favored U.S. publication, “They were celebrating the kids’ birthdays together. The kids enjoyed numerous rides.”
Joining them at the Anaheim, California theme park was Doria Ragland, adding to the family celebration yesterday.
Meghan apparently invited her as a way to extend their joint Mother’s Day celebrations from Sunday.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry enjoyed a sweet family trip to Disneyland with their children
Princess Lilibet at Disneyland hugging Cinderella in a lovely moment ahead of her fifth birthday
The duchess shared a number of images from the outing to her Instagram account yesterday
Meghan kisses her mother Doria, who was enjoying a mother’s day treat. Archie and Lilibet are shown playing in the background at the spot they were photographed at last year
Meghan shared a fun video of them both meeting Mickey and Minnie Mouse with Lilibet.
‘It was a special way to extend Mother’s Day for Meghan and her mom,’ the People insider said.
The Disney trip mirrored the one from last year, when Lilibet turned four.
Harry and Meghan posed on a balcony with their children, whose faces were partially covered with emojis.
This year’s photos showed their daughter in a floral summer dress and her strawberry blonde hair tied back.
And it was clear Archie has grown.
He wore jeans, trainers and a dark T-shirt with a playful Disney cap and sunglasses.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are famously private about their children – but appear to make exceptions for birthdays and other occasions.
Last week, Meghan shared a rare photo of Archie as a baby to celebrate his 7th birthday, showing the young royal asleep on Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram to post a pair of unseen photos, one of the prince lying on his father’s chest and the other of him pictured on a beach with his little sister Princess Lilibet.
‘7 years later…happy birthday to our sweet boy,’ Meghan wrote alongside the pictures.
Lilibet was less keen to meet Star Wars villain Darth Vader and his stormtroopers
Archie and Lili on a boat cruise in the theme park where they enjoyed the rides, a source said
Meghan and Doria meet Minnie and Mickey Mouse during their trip to Disneyland this week
Born on May 6, 2019, at London’s private Portland Hospital – rather than the traditional Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital – the Sussexes chose to deviate from royal convention by refusing the traditional press photo call.
But the greatest scandal surrounding the young royal’s birth seemed to relate to his title. Or, indeed, lack thereof.
Shortly after Archie’s birth, Meghan announced that Archie would be a ‘private citizen’ without a title as they did not want the youngster to be bound by convention.
The couple were insistent that they wanted their son to be known as plain ‘Mister Archie’ and not bear the title of royal, which was done to help preserve his privacy.
When Harry and Meghan made the unprecedented decision to give up their royal roles in 2020, it was unknown what the future would look like for their son Archie, who at that time did not hold a title.
At the time, journalists such as Omid Scobie, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s future biographer, gushed that this decision was ‘all part’ of their desire to give their son ‘as normal a life as possible’.
The Duchess of Sussex took to Instagram to post a pair of unseen photos of Archie, one of the young prince lying on his father’s chest
Another picture showed Archie on a beach with his little sister Princess Lilibet. ‘7 years later…happy birthday to our sweet boy,’ Meghan wrote alongside the pictures
Archie and Lilibet were not ‘prince’ and ‘princess’ at birth because they were not grandchildren of the monarch at the time. But they gained the right to these titles when King Charles acceded to the throne in 2022.
Harry and Meghan are understood to be keen to not deny their children, Archie and Lilibet, their birthright, but to allow them the chance to decide for themselves when they are older whether to drop or keep using their titles.
King Charles has reportedly only met Archie a few times and Lilibet only once, in 2022.
