Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Overhaul Archie 1st Birthday Plans

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and baby Archie.

(Image credit: Pool/Samir Hussein/Getty Images)

published 8 April 2020

Currently secluding themselves in their L.A. home, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have apparently changed plans for Archie Harrison's birthday.
Originally hoping to spend time with the Queen, a small party has now been downgraded to just the family of three with the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the shelter-in-place order for California.
The couple just recently announced their plans for their new nonprofit Archewell, which derives from the same word that inspired Archie's name!

No surprise: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who apparently had plans for a birthday party for son Archie Harrison, have had to cancel in favor of something much smaller. (The little cutie was born on May 6, 2019, and immediately afterwards the world collectively lost its mind over the photos.) We've gotten many, many small and large event cancellations because of COVID-19, so this just makes sense.

A source talking to Us Weekly explained that apparently the original plan was to visit the Queen in Balmoral, Scotland. That clearly isn't happening at this point, and they'll visit the Queen at a later date. Then the plan was to do a small party in their new Los Angeles home. But, of course, that's not happening either, what with social distancing. California has been particularly hit by COVID-19 and is currently under a shelter-in-place order.

Apparently, "'It will be just the three of them,' the insider says, noting that Meghan’s bestie, Jessica Mulroney, was scheduled to attend, but the Suits alum 'refuses to take any risks' with guests or travel." Meghan's mom is much closer than Mulroney, but there's no mention of her—according to reports, Meghan actually hasn't seen Doria yet because of COVID-19.

One thing that's still on the menu for Archie's special day? Animal-themed cupcakes! "Archie’s such an animal lover," the source said. "He has tons of animal books and fluffy toys." Soooo he must have watched the Disney documentary about elephants his mom narrates??

The last time we saw the adorable bean officially via the (now-defunct) Sussex Royal website was in a montage of 2019:

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal)
A photo posted by on

But Meghan and Harry have stated that part of the reason they stepped back as senior royals was because they wanted to protect their son's privacy, so if I had to guess, don't expect to see much of Archie on the big day.

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Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award.

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.