King Charles III toasted Archie's birthday 'wherever he was'
Prince Harry skipped his dad’s King Charles III coronation lunch to celebrate his son Archie’s birthday in California Saturday, but the royal grandson was there in spirit.
The newly crowned king reportedly raised a toast to exiled grandson Prince Archie to wish him a happy fourth birthday “wherever he was.”
Charles made the poignant tribute at a private family gathering on coronation day Saturday after Harry, 38, had already dashed home to California to celebrate Archie’s birthday, sources told the Daily Mail.
Harry had been invited to the family lunch — and his 74-year-old dad, the king, seemed “genuinely quite disappointed that he didn’t stay,” the paper’s source said.
Other royals, however, “breathed a sigh of relief” that the “Spare” author avoided any acrimony amid he and his wife Meghan Markle’s repeated attacks on the family in interviews, podcasts, his memoir and their Netflix docuseries. Markle, 41, skipped the coronation entirely and remained in the US with Archie and daughter Lilibet.
At the buffet-style lunch, Charles reportedly first toasted the three grandchildren who were there on his special day — Prince William’s event-stealing kids Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George, who was Page of Honour.
Newly crowned King Charles III reportedly raised a toast to exiled grandson Prince Archie to wish him a happy fourth birthday “wherever he was.” REUTERS
The king, seen raising a glass last month, reportedly toasted “those that weren’t there” at his coronation. Getty Images
He then toasted “those that weren’t there,” a clear nod to include his exiled son and his family, according to the outlet.
He then reportedly singled out young Archie, wishing him a very happy birthday “wherever he was.”
“It was apparently a very sweet moment,” the source told The Mail.
Harry was in such a rush to leave he was still in his Dior morning suit when he arrived at Heathrow Airport. His flight left even before his dad and mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, posed for official coronation photos.
He reportedly wished Archie, here in dad Harry’s arms, a happy 4th birthday “wherever he was.” Alexi Lubomirski / Duke and Duchess of Sussex
Meghan Markle, 41, skipped the coronation entirely and remained in the US with Archie and daughter Lilibet. AP
Harry fled the UK before two more days of celebrations for his dad’s coronation. Getty Images
The estranged prince — who wrote that he had always been considered a “spare” to his older brother and heir to the throne William — was suitably low-key and largely hidden during the coronation events. He sat in the third row of Westminster Abby with distant relatives and was not seen interacting at all with his dad or brother before jetting back to the US.
The coronation lunch wasn’t the only celebration for his father the prince missed. Harry was also absent for street parties and a big concert Sunday to honor the newly crowned king.
Monday — a public holiday in the UK for the coronation — will see royals and politicians joining a day of volunteering dubbed “The Big Help Out.”
Source: New York Post
