ROYALLY FUN
Piles of gifts! A chocolate fountain! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle go all out for a festive family event.
It’s gearing up to be a busy summer for the Sussexes. Before giving birth to her second child with Prince Harry, a daughter, Meghan Markle will release her debut children’s book, The Bench, on June 8. The inspiration for the tale? Her husband’s loving bond with their firstborn son Archie.
The special tot turned 2 on May 6 — his last birthday as an only child! — and it’s no surprise Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, went all-out to celebrate. “They wanted to spoil Archie a little bit,” an insider says of the pool day and barbecue the proud parents planned at their Montecito, Calif., home. “Harry went out and bought a chocolate fountain for the occasion, plus party hats, balloons, candy and a delicious multilayer birthday cake — everything a kid could want!” And then some. “They also got him so many gifts — books, a toy car, jigsaw puzzles, a children’s cooking kit and activity games for outdoors,” adds the insider. “Archie is one lucky little boy.”
CUTENESS OVERLOAD
Meghan and Harry no doubt feel like the lucky ones. “Archie has the cutest personality,” raves the insider of the social butterfly, who sweetly tried to learn the “Happy Birthday” song ahead of his special day. “He’s quite a little character — an independent, confident and determined kid. When Archie wants something, you definitely know about it.” But this royal descendant is no brat. “Harry and Meghan are raising him to have impeccable manners,” the insider insists. “He always says please and thank you!”
Despite recent family tensions, Archie’s lovable disposition hasn’t gone unnoticed by Prince William, 38, and his wife, Kate Middleton, 39. “They mailed Archie a birthday gift and signed the card from their children — George, Charlotte and Louis — and themselves,” says the insider, noting that the gesture came weeks after Harry’s awkward reunion with his older brother at the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, in England. “William and Kate really wanted to do something nice for their nephew.”
Soon, he’ll be sharing the spotlight — seemingly happily so. “Archie loves putting his hand on Meghan’s tummy and feeling his baby sister move,” reveals the insider. “He’s such a loving child.”