The Duchess of Sussex shared a new photo of her son with a sweet caption: “Where did the time go?”
Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world’s most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.
Meghan Markle is celebrating Prince Archie’s golden birthday (turning 6 on May 6!) with a sunny tribute.
The Duchess of Sussex marked the sixth birthday of her son, whom she shares with Prince Harry, by sharing a new photo on her personal Instagram page. The snap showed Archie from behind as he watched the sun, centered so it created a radiant glow around his head, set into the ocean from a balcony.
“Our son. Our sun,” she captioned the post. “Happy 6th birthday to Archie!”
“Thank you for all of the love, prayers, and warm wishes for our sweet boy,” she added. “He’s six! Where did the time go?”
The caption also revealed a hint into how Prince Archie celebrated his birthday: “And for all of you who came to celebrate with us at his party last weekend, thank you for making his birthday so incredibly special,” she wrote.
Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, became first-time parents when their son Archie Harrison was born in London on May 6, 2019. Archie is a shortened version of the name Archibald, meaning “genuine,” “bold” and “brave,” according to The Bump. Harrison, meanwhile, traces back to the Middle Ages as a patronymic for “son of Henry” or “son of Harry,” and is interpreted as a tribute to Prince Harry.
The little prince also inherited something else from his dad: red hair!
In January 2020, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced their decision to step back from their royal roles and eventually settled in her home state of California in the U.S.
Harry and Meghan’s family expanded when their daughter Princess Lilibet, now 3, was born in June 2021. PEOPLE was first to confirm that the couple had adopted royal titles for their children upon Lilibet’s christening in March 2023. When King Charles acceded to the throne in September 2022, Archie and Lilibet were afforded the titles of prince and princess as grandchildren of the sovereign.
“The children’s titles have been a birthright since their grandfather became monarch,” a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told PEOPLE at the time of Princess Lilibet’s christening. “This matter has been settled for some time in alignment with Buckingham Palace.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their children outside of the spotlight in Montecito, California, and Meghan has given glimpses into their private world on the Instagram pages she launched at the start of the year. The Duchess of Sussex runs the profile @meghan to share a mix of personal and professional updates, as well as the handle @aseverofficial for her lifestyle brand, As ever.
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In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Meghan revealed that Prince Archie shares a favorite food with Prince Harry (“fried eggs”) and said it meant much for her kids to visit her on the set of her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, which premiered on March 4.
“Archie did the [filming clapboard]! Sweet moments,” the Duchess of Sussex said about Archie’s participation there.
“They would also come with my husband and visit me on-set, and I loved that my children were able to watch me working and see the balance of that and understand what Mama does and is working to create and share. It was really special because up until then, they hadn’t seen me at work,” she added,
Over the weekend, Meghan posted a new photo of Prince Harry, Archie and Lili walking together in what looked like the garden of their Montecito home. The update came after the Duke of Sussex gave a bombshell interview to the BBC after losing his legal appeal for a restoration of the state-funded security he says was unfairly stripped when he and Meghan stepped back from their royal roles in 2020.
In a searing revelation, Prince Harry said, “I can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K. at this point,” without the safeguard of official protection.
