Prince Charles Is Sad About Not Seeing Archie in More Than a Year

published 1 November 20

It's been more than a year since most of the royal family have seen Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son, Archie, in person.
A royal source told the Daily Mail that Prince Charles has been open about how sad he is not to have seen his youngest grandson in so long.
"The Prince of Wales enjoyed popping into Frogmore Cottage to see his youngest grandchild and is sad that he hasn’t seen him for so long. He has missed much of his development since he is now growing up in the USA," the source said.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle didn't officially walk away from their royal duties until March of this year, but it's been even longer since their son, Archie Harrison, was in the UK. The Sussexes left for North America in November 2019, having announced their decision to take an extended holiday break, which they planned to spend in North America with Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.

"The Duke and Duchess are looking forward to extended family time towards the end of this month. Having spent the last two Christmases at Sandringham, their Royal Highnesses will spend the holidays this year, as a new family, with the Duchess' mother Doria Ragland," a spokesperson explained at the time, adding,"This decision is in line with precedent set previously by other members of the royal family, and has the support of Her Majesty the Queen."

In early January, Harry and Meghan shocked the world by announcing their decision to resign from royal duties and, while the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to the United Kingdom earlier this year to complete a final round of royal duties, their son Archie stayed in Canada with family and friends.

According to the Daily Mail, it's now been more than a year since the other members of the royal family have seen Archie, and Prince Charles has opened up to some royal insiders about how sad he is to have gone so long without seeing his youngest grandson.

"The Prince of Wales enjoyed popping into Frogmore Cottage to see his youngest grandchild and is sad that he hasn’t seen him for so long. He has missed much of his development since he is now growing up in the USA," a source described as a friend of the royal family told the publication.

The royal source added that Charles isn't the only royal who is feeling sad about how far away Archie is, either.

"Other members of the family are very sad at not seeing him. Everyone really misses Archie—they feel it’s particularly sad for the Queen and Prince Philip," the source added. "Harry always said he looked forward to raising his family with William’s—which of course is not now happening."

The Sussexes will reportedly spend Christmas in the United States this year, at least partly due to travel restrictions related to COVID-19.