King Charles Raises a Glass to Grandson Prince Archie on His Birthday This Past Saturday

(Image credit: Getty)

published 9 May 2023

Marie Claire reported recently that the royal family skipped out on wishing Prince Archie a happy fourth birthday on social media this past Saturday—hey, it was the Coronation, after all—but it seems as though Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son wasn’t far from their minds.

At what Page Six calls “an intimate family gathering” on Saturday, King Charles raised a toast to Archie to wish him a happy fourth birthday “wherever he was” (interesting choice of words, as Archie was at home with Meghan and little sister Princess Lilibet in Montecito, California). Charles also paid a tribute to “those that weren’t there” at the gathering, held immediately after the Coronation ceremony at Buckingham Palace. (It seems Harry was invited, but opted not to attend the reception, instead focusing on heading home to his family in California.)

King Charles and Queen Camilla on the Buckingham Palace balcony

Prince William kicked off the buffet-style meal, congratulating his father on his big day, one that he waited 74 years for. Soon after, the King stood to address the crowd—which included Queen Camilla’s extended family, as well as the Princess of Wales’ birth family, the Middletons—and thank them for making the Coronation so successful.

“It was apparently a very sweet moment,” a source says.

The source further elaborated that the King seemed “genuinely quite disappointed that he [Harry] didn’t stay” for the luncheon, but others, however, “breathed a sigh of relief” that he didn’t join.

If you’ll remember, this toast was actually one of Harry and Meghan’s reported “demands” to attend the Coronation—as Marie Claire reported back in March, a source said “they [Harry and Meghan] would like some kind of nod to that [Archie’s birthday] at a lunch or drinks reception. Even if it’s just a happy birthday mention.” It appears that the King honored that wish, even in their absence.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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