A special birthday gift which took pride of place amongst Prince Archie’s haul has been revealed by his mum and dad.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s eldest child celebrated his fourth birthday on May 6, the same day as the coronation of his grandfather King Charles. The youngster stayed at home with his mother and his sister Princess Lillibet, and a party was organised at the family’s Montecito mansion to mark the occasion.
The Duke of Sussex famously made a whistlestop trip home back to the UK for his dad’s big day, but he managed to get back to California in time to enjoy a bit of the celebrations for Archie. And now it’s been revealed to People just what some of those celebrations entailed, as we learn that the young prince was gifted a bike that was hand delivered with balloons tied to its handlebars, as well as a card and some flowers for former Suits actress Meghan.
The present came from the British owner of a bike shop based in the plush neighbourhood Harry and Meghan call home. Jennifer Blevins, who owns the Mad Dogs and Englishmen store with her English partner Martin, got up extra early on May 6 and had the spontaneous thought to get a gift to the royal on his and his grandad's big day.
Jennifer told People: "He went and he got one of our little specialised kids' bikes — they're really nice little bikes — and he's like, ‘This one's perfect, it's got training wheels.'
"And so he went and got some birthday balloons, and he got some flowers for Meghan and a birthday card, and he said, ‘Okay, I'm gonna bike over and take it to their house.’”
Royal fans may think he would have been on to plums when he got to the gates of the couple's mansion, but in fact the security guards working for the Duke and Duchess were more than happy to pass the present on, and it turns out it went down rather well, as Jennifer revealed they received a message of thanks from the former working royals. Jennifer shared the letter she received to the official Mad Dogs Instagram page, and it read: "
"On behalf of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, please accept their sincere thanks for the thoughtful gift you sent to Prince Archie on his fourth birthday.
"The bike has bought much joy, and is most appreciated by the family. They asked that I convey their gratitude at the lovely surprise."
The letter was signed by Harrison Colcord, who works for Harry and Meghan.
Jennifer's husband Martin added: "A courier came by our little shop on Coast Village Road and he dropped off that letter. I was making a joke, I said, ‘It better be a thank you letter,’ and it really was!
"I wasn't expecting that. I had no idea. It was so thoughtful because, you know, they took the time to write something personal and not just a generic thank you.
"His little sister [Lilibet] can enjoy it too as she grows, it'll be one that both of them like."
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