Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are "Reluctant" to Introduce Archie and Lilibet to Public Life

\Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kept their children largely out of the limelight since their move to California in 2020, and this is reportedly a deliberate move on their part.

"Harry has been reluctant to show his children publicly, not out of a desire to hide them but to protect their privacy and safety from potential threats," a friend of the Sussexes' told People.

"He wants them to lead as normal a life as possible without the fear of kidnapping or harm."

They added, "As a dad and husband, Harry is determined to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself."

Harry's history is a heavy one in many ways, firstly because of the untimely death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997 in a car crash, as she was being trailed by paparazzi.

Then there is the Duke of Sussex' difficult history with the press, which he claims had a hugely negative impact on his childhood and adolescence — precisely because he was so much in the public eye due to his position in the Royal Family.

In this context, it's not hard to follow Harry's logic when it comes to protecting Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

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The two little ones have rarely been seen in public since 2020, with the two having made small cameos in their parents' 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

His parents also sometimes make comments in passing about their children during public appearances, such as the time the duchess revealed that Archie is passionate about photography, having been inspired by family friend Misan Harriman.

Meghan said while moderating a talk in December, "Our four-and-a-half-year-old son—he would say, 'No, I'm not four. I'm four and a half!' —Misan was showing him how to do photography the last time he was with us, and I bought Archie a camera, and he said, 'But it's not a Leica like Misan.' I said, 'You are not getting a Leica! Not even for Christmas.'"

But aside from that kind of tidbit, we know quite little about the two children—and the Sussexes are likely to keep it that way.