Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn’t make the move to the US all by themselves. Their son, Prince Archie, was right there with them when they took that so-called “freedom flight” to Canada. Back in 2021, after settling into their multi-million-dollar mansion in Montecito, California, the Sussexes welcomed a daughter, Princess Lilibet.
Even though Archie and Lilibet are still really young, these two royal kids have been a constant topic of discussion in the news. Lilibet just had her third birthday, but sadly, no members of the Royal Family showed up for her party. What the future holds for Archie and Lilibet’s relationships with their cousins in the UK – Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis – is up for debate. There have been rumors lately that King Charles is really eager to be more involved in the lives of the Sussexes’ children.
Archie is set to start kindergarten this fall, and Lilibet is getting ready for preschool. It’s said that Harry and Meghan have started checking out schools for their kids. But then one US journalist went after the couple, calling them “frauds”.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved to the US to have a more private life, away from the pesky paparazzi and the pressures and expectations of the monarchy. It’s been reported that the couple knew pretty soon after their wedding that they didn’t want to stay in the Firm for the long haul.
When Archie was born in 2019, the Sussexes had already started trying to be more private. They didn’t want to be paraded around like “marionette puppets” by the Crown for all the fans and the media.
Harry & Meghan ‘tricked” the press when Archie was born
In her book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, royal expert Katie Nicholl described Harry as being “almost morbidly obsessed” with keeping Archie’s birth a secret. That’s not the usual way things go when royal babies are born.
But while millions of fans and most of the public were looking for info about the little boy, Harry and Meghan’s wish for secrecy didn’t last. It was seen as part of the “unwritten contract between the royals and the public”.
“Behind the scenes, things were so tense that more than one official – and I know this from personal experience – was brought to tears of frustration and despair,” said Rebecca English, the royal editor of the Daily Mail.
Usually, when a royal baby is born, the parents go out on the hospital steps with their new son or daughter and pose for the media. After the pictures are taken, the proud mom and dad answer a few questions and then go back to their privacy.
According to Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan wanted to do Archie’s birth differently. Instead of facing the media head-on, they played a trick on the reporters and photographers.
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Prince William, Prince Harry, and William’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were all born at St Mary’s Hospital. So, the traditional first baby photos were taken there. But Meghan’s doctor worked at Portland Hospital, so it made sense for Meghan to have Archie there.
Prince Archie & Princess Lilibet
An added plus for the Sussexes was that the place made it impossible to get good photos because of safety concerns around the entrance.
“Harry had always liked outsmarting the media,” Nicholl wrote in The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the of the Crown.
“He and Meghan were happy to have their son safely born in London’s private Portland hospital even before the palace press office had said the duchess was in labor.”
Lilibet’s birth was a bit different. She was born in June 2021 in California, and no paparazzi even got close. But it wasn’t long before Harry and Meghan Markle brought their kids back into the spotlight.
Two years after Lilibet’s birth, the Sussexes announced that they had given their children the titles of prince and princess. But while Harry and Meghan say the titles are their kids’ birthright, not everyone thinks it was a good idea.
According to royal expert and author Angela Levin, it could have a bad effect on Archie and Lilibet’s futures.
In a piece for Sky, Levin said that Lilibet now has a big burden because of her parents’ decision.
“It’ll take a long time for little Lilibet to realize how heavy the burden her parents have put on her young shoulders,” Levin said at the time.
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She added that by giving their daughter an official royal title, Harry and Meghan have now “tied her to the British Royal Family”, the same group they’ve been criticizing for years.
“Why on earth would you want your daughter to go through that kind of pain?” Levin asked, saying that Lilibet’s daily life will be harder now that she has the title of princess.
King Charles ‘desperate’ to meet Archie & Lilibet
“Little girls like being a princess at parties, but if Lilibet is the only one in her class who’s a real princess, it could lead to jealousy that could be easily avoided,” the royal expert concluded.
Obviously, Archie and Lilibet are growing up fast. Archie had his 5th birthday in May, and Lilibet turned three a little over a week ago. On June 5, the young princess had a party, but no one from the royal side of her family was there. In fact, it’s believed that Princess Eugenie is the only royal who’s visited Harry, Meghan, and their children in California.
Interestingly, while King Charles’s relationship with Harry and Meghan is still strained, he’s reportedly “heartbroken” about not having a relationship with Archie and Lilibet.
For example, the King has only met Archie five times and Lilibet just once.
Speaking with the Mirror, royal expert Ingrid Seward, author of My Mother and I: The Inside Story of the King and Our Late Queen, said Charles’ cancer diagnosis has made his relationship with Archie and Lilibet “even more sad”, as he knows he “won’t be around forever”.
“Family has always been important to the King. He remembers his own kind of broken childhood because his parents were always busy doing their duty. It makes him really sad that he doesn’t see more of Archie and Lilibet,” Seward explained.
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“That’s why he’ll never cut ties with Harry. He doesn’t want a FaceTime relationship with his son’s children. He wants to know them and be part of their lives while they’re still young enough to learn from his wisdom. His cancer has made it even more important to him because he knows he won’t be around forever.”
Meghan revealed the real reason why Archie will never attend a UK school
Only time will tell what Harry and Meghan’s children will do when they grow up. They can be whatever they want to be – even working royals. But their parents probably see a future where they both go to some of the best and most expensive schools in the world.
Remember, their UK relatives have gone to famous schools like Gordonstoun in Scotland and Eton in England. But the Sussexes, it’s said, won’t let their son go to school in the UK.
In a 2022 piece in The Cut, journalist Allison Davis remembered a conversation with Meghan Markle. The Duchess said she didn’t want her son Archie to go to school in the UK because of safety concerns.
“Earlier in our conversation about her goals for the life she’s making here, she said that if Archie were in school in the UK, she couldn’t do school pickup and drop-off without it turning into a royal photo op with 40 people taking pictures,” Davis wrote.
Meghan told Allison: “Sorry, I have a problem with that. That doesn’t mean I’m obsessed with privacy. That means I’m a good parent protecting my child.”
KING’S LYNN, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 25: Prince Charles; Prince of Wales Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene on December 25, 2017 in King’s LYNN, England. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
There’s still a lot of time before Archie and Lilibet start their studies, which will include at least high school or college. Until then, they’ll probably go to a school near where they live in fashionable Montecito, California.
Harry and Meghan “inspecting” an expensive private school for Archie & Lilibet
One journalist says that the Sussexes have started looking at schools in the area. And of course, Harry and Meghan are getting a lot of criticism for the schools they might choose.
Speaking with the Mirror, Rochard Mineards, with the Montecito Journal, said that Harry and Meghan have been checking out a local private school. And it’s really pricey.
“The Riven Rock twosome were seen looking at an institution’s campus last week, getting closer to a decision,” Mineards said.
He added: “School fees in our area are between $60,000 and $50,000 plus for older grades, and most of the schools send 100 percent of their students to four-year colleges.”
It’s likely that Harry and Meghan have the money to send their children to private schools. But the fact that Harry is looking at such an expensive school isn’t going over well with everyone.
US-based journalist Lee Cohen has gone after the royal couple, calling them “frauds”. In an interview with GB News, he said it’s “really annoying” that the Sussexes are thinking about putting their children in an “extremely expensive” school, especially since they care about equality.
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“It’s so frustrating to hear that Harry and Meghan, who say they’re for equality and social justice, are even thinking about putting their children in an exclusive, outrageously expensive school,” Cohen said.
Harry & Meghan branded “frauds”
“Their so-called commitment to progressive causes is just a front,” he continued. “If they’re okay with this ultimate form of elitism, there’s no way they can say they’re for equality. Yet they’re willing to pay tens of thousands a year for their children’s education. How can they justify that when so many families can’t even afford the basics?”
Cohen ended his rant by accusing the couple of keeping up “systems of privilege”, even though they say they’re against it.
“Sending their children to such a fancy school completely shows that Harry and Meghan are frauds. By continuing the very systems of privilege that they claim to be against,” Cohen told GB News.
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