Today, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s youngest child Princess Lilibet celebrates her fourth birthday – but with the Sussexes still embroiled in a rift with the royals, one royal expert says the day is a painful reminder for King Charles
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have cause for celebration as their youngest child Princess Lilibet turns four. The youngest of King Charles’ grandchildren will be celebrating the special day in California today alongside her parents as well as big brother Prince Archie, who turned six last month.
The children are said to be at the centre of the Sussexes’ world with an insider describing their Montecito home as a ‘happy bubble’. And with Meghan showing off her hosting skills in her recent Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, a carefully planned party is no doubt on the cards for her daughter.
However, one relative who will miss out on any celebration is Lilibet’s grandfather, the King. Last month, Harry dropped a bombshell when he revealed his father no longer speaks to him after losing a Court of Appeal challenge over his security arrangements while in the UK.
It comes as Lilibet is only known to have met her grandfather once – with the emotional meeting coming three years ago when Harry and Meghan brought their children to the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
And former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond believes the fact that the King will probably not see Lilibet for her birthday is “incredibly sad”. She told the Mirror : “Her birthday is mid-week, so I assume it will be a school day for Lilibet, but I’m sure there’ll be time for a tea party or celebration of some kind.
“Kids’ birthdays are always fun and I think Meghan is the sort of person who will put a great deal of effort and care into making the day extremely magical for her little girl.
“I’m sure it will all be picture perfect. Having just celebrated the fourth birthday of my own granddaughter – the smiles, the laughter, the love and the fun – I can only imagine the pain that Charles must feel when he thinks about all he is missing. These are years and occasions that cannot be relived and, once passed, they are gone forever. It’s incredibly sad.”
Meanwhile, Lilibet’s birthday comes as she features more and more on mum Meghan’s Instagram account. Both Harry and Meghan have carefully guarded their children’s privacy – and even shots shown on social media are curated to make sure they don’t show either Archie or Lilibet’s full faces.
And Jennie added: “I suppose Meghan is showing the children more on Instagram because she knows there is a public appetite for photos of them. But she’s being very coy about allowing us to see what they really look like.
“That’s fair enough, if she wants to protect their privacy – though you could certainly argue that there’s a very fine line between using them to publicise her Instagram account and her determination to keep their family life private.
“With both children at school, she and Harry will obviously have a bit more time to pursue their various activities. Meghan seems to be ramping up her projects more and more, but I think they will both continue to put their family first – just like William and Catherine. And there’s nothing wrong with that if you are lucky enough to be able to do so.”
Lilibet, the King’s youngest grandchild, was born on June 4, 2021, in California. She was named Lilibet Diana, paying tribute to her great-grandmother, the late Queen, and her grandmother, Princess Diana. She is seventh in line to the throne and unlike her older brother Archie has never lived in the UK – only visiting once.
