Archie turns on charm on his first birthday
Archie Mountbatten-Windsor took a starring role in front of the camera for his A-list charity campaign debut, while also celebrating his birthday.
Archie, who turned one on Wednesday, proved a natural on screen as the Duchess of Sussex read his favourite storybook in aid of an Instagram fundraising drive for Save the Children.
It is the first time he has been seen since moving with his parents to Los Angeles, and only his third appearance on video.
The birthday boy was seen giggling, throwing books on the floor and trying to talk while filmed by his proud father, the Duke of Sussex, as part of the ‘‘Save with Stories’’ campaign.
Launched in the US by actresses Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams, the project has seen celebrities from Reese Witherspoon to Dame Helen Mirren read children’s books to raise awareness and funds during the pandemic.
In his LA debut, Archie listened to his mother read Duck! Rabbit!, based on an optical illusion made famous by Ludwig Wittgenstein, the philosopher.
Wriggling on the Duchess’s lap, Archie provided able assistance, turning the pages before comically proving the adage ‘‘never work with children or animals’’, by reaching for a different book and throwing the first one away.
‘‘Let’s finish this one first,’’ the Duchess told him gently, picking the book up from the floor and looking into the camera in amusement as Prince Harry tried to suppress his laughter.
At one point, Archie appeared to start grizzling before being cheered by the pictures in front of him and beginning to giggle as his mother kept up a running commentary of ‘‘what happens next? Can you turn the page?’’ and quacking in his ear.
As he turned the final page, the Duchess told ‘‘Arch’’ he had done a ‘‘good job!’’ while the Duke cheered ‘‘bravo!’’ in the background.
Archie appeared to be trying to talk, making a ‘‘dada’’ sound – possibly for ‘‘duck’’ or ‘‘daddy’’ – at the end of his starring role. he then tried to chew the cardboard pages for his grand finale.
A spokesman for the Sussexes said: ‘‘As they celebrate this family moment, the Duke and Duchess wanted to continue to raise awareness around the urgency of bringing food and learning resources to millions of children.’’
Duck! Rabbit! is based on the optical illusion of the rabbit and the duck, asking readers to see it from both perspectives and decide which animal they can see.
The book was decorated with a sticker reading ‘‘Archie’s Book Club’’. It is thought that the book was a gift from Oprah Winfrey, whose eponymous book club uses similar stickers.
The video was launched on the Save the Children Instagram page.
Along with actresses Witherspoon and Dame Helen, dozens of celebrities have already shared stories.
They include Julie Walters, Stephen Fry, Eddie Redmayne, Joely Richardson, Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Lupita Nyong’o.