Meghan Markle Shares Adorable New Pic Of Prince Harry & Archie To Mark Son's 7th Birthday

No matter what you may think about Prince Harry's stunning family drama or the red flags in Prince Harry's marriage to Meghan Markle, you can't deny that the royal defectors made two seriously cute children. The self-described "spare" is the father of his own heir and spare, as it were; Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. In a classic "where does the time go?" moment, Meghan posted two never-before-seen photos on her Instagram account on May 6, 2026, to mark Archie's seventh birthday. "7 years later...happy birthday to our sweet boy," she captioned it.

The first was an adorable pic of the Duke of Sussex lying propped up in bed with a newborn Archie, draped in a blanket, sleeping on his chest. The second was a scenic shot of Archie and Lilibet, seen from the rear, walking along a beach shoreline with mountains in the background. The Duchess of Sussex has shared images of her children before, but this set felt especially personal and candid. It was also a poignant reminder of what could have been if things had played out differently for their family.

Had Harry and Meghan chosen instead to remain in London and connected to the palace as working royals, young Archie would probably be attending school alongside his cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. He and his sister would get to enjoy some quality time with their grandfather, King Charles III, and they'd have gotten invites to Christmas at his Sandringham estate alongside a coveted spot on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the annual Trooping the Colour parade. Now, each passing year just serves as a reminder to the world of the distance between them.

In 2021, the royal family's birthday message to Archie had the internet seeing red. The Instagram posts in question, from Queen Elizabeth II, then-Prince Charles, and Prince William, all featured photos of Archie as a baby and social media followers chided each of them for not having had an occasion to get a more recent photo of the family together. The last time Prince Harry and Meghan Markle came to the U.K. with their children was back in 2022, for Her Majesty's historic Platinum Jubilee. Even then, they stayed away from the action and spent the rest of their stay celebrating Princess Lilibet's first birthday.

This year, the king's official Instagram account made no mention of Archie's seventh birthday, but it's worth pointing out this wasn't a deliberate snub. It's actually palace policy to limit online birthday acknowledgements to working royals, with the exception of certain milestones (Harry got surprise greetings from the royals on his 40th birthday in 2024 — yes, even from William's people). Had the Sussexes not opted to relinquish their official duties, they would have enjoyed the privilege of public shout-outs from The Firm too.  

Archie still maintains his prince title, and he holds a relatively high spot in the line of succession. As of this writing, Archie is sixth in line to the throne, behind his uncle William, his three cousins, and his dad. Lilibet, accordingly, is seventh. But once Prince George marries and has children — as the future heir apparent, it's a non-negotiable — Archie will drop down several notches. Not that it matters, of course. Archie and Lilibet are being raised as well-to-do California kids, and they seem perfectly content to stay that way.