Marie Claire reported recently that the royal family skipped out on wishing Prince Archie a happy fourth birthday on social media this past Saturday—hey, it was the Coronation, after all—but it seems as though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son wasn’t far from their minds.
At what Page Six calls “an intimate family gathering” on Saturday, King Charles raised a toast to Archie to wish him a happy fourth birthday “wherever he was” (interesting choice of words, as Archie was at home with Meghan and little sister Princess Lilibet in Montecito, California). Charles also paid a tribute to “those that weren’t there” at the gathering, held immediately after the Coronation ceremony at Buckingham Palace. (It seems Harry was invited, but opted not to attend the reception, instead focusing on heading home to his family in California.)
Prince William kicked off the buffet-style meal, congratulating his father on his big day, one that he waited 74 years for. Soon after, the King stood to address the crowd—which included Queen Camilla’s extended family, as well as the Princess of Wales’ birth family, the Middletons—and thank them for making the Coronation so successful.
“It was apparently a very sweet moment,” a source says.
The source further elaborated that the King seemed “genuinely quite disappointed that he [Harry] didn’t stay” for the luncheon, but others, however, “breathed a sigh of relief” that he didn’t join.
If you’ll remember, this toast was actually one of Harry and Meghan’s reported “demands” to attend the Coronation—as Marie Claire reported back in March, a source said “they [Harry and Meghan] would like some kind of nod to that [Archie’s birthday] at a lunch or drinks reception. Even if it’s just a happy birthday mention.” It appears that the King honored that wish, even in their absence.
