Meghan Markle Said She and Prince Harry “Couldn’t Decide” Between Two Names for Prince Archie

Today, May 6, marks Prince Archie’s fifth birthday—and royal biographer Ingrid Seward said that the oldest child and only son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will celebrate with “his school friends—possibly the entire class,” she told The Sun. “And the cool locals with the kids and the Hollywood set. The party will be themed, possibly, superhero, which is popular with that age group.” 

Seward added that “The food will be all gluten-free or possibly a choice, and there will be a themed birthday cake,” likely made by Meghan herself, who made Archie a lemon cake for his fourth birthday last year using fruit from their garden, The Daily Express reported. 

“Games will be arranged with an entertainer or a group of entertainers—everyone young in L.A. that isn’t an actor is a party entertainer,” Seward continued. “They might arrange for a themed adventure around the garden or something like a woodland theme.” She added “They might bring in exotic animals and make an upmarket petting zoo for the kids. Llamas, miniature ponies—talking parrots or tame monkey. There will be a complete ban on all plastics and a request for no plastic presents. The glasses and plates will be bamboo or something similar. Kids of five love dancing, so [the party] most likely will have a disco. There will be party bags for the kids and champagne (or wine) and beer for the parents, possibly an after barbeque for the close friends.”

Seward—who, in addition to writing many royal biographies, is also the editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine—added that “These parties cost a fortune. Even parents with ordinary incomes spend a lot,” adding that today’s kid’s birthday parties are “Not like the old days of Smarty Arty and pass the parcel, which it was like when Harry was five [in 1989].” 

Seward said that Archie’s grandfather, King Charles, will likely give him a toy from Hamleys, and that Queen Camilla will have picked it out. She’s thinking something along the lines of books or fancy wooden toys, or “maybe a five-year-old size Jeep or tractor, but could not be plastic—have to be made of metal or wood,” she said. “Very expensive, as it would have to be custom-made.” As for gifts from Archie’s party guests, “I am sure some of the L.A. parents will try and outdo each other on presents,” Seward said. “But not the royals. They are pretty parsimonious as far as presents go. It’s hard to find nonplastic presents for small children, so it is anyone’s guess.”

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on this day in 2019 at 5:26 a.m. at Portland Hospital in the U.K., and almost wasn’t Archie at all that ended up as his given name. Meghan previously said that she and Harry “couldn’t decide” between Archie and Harrison (so, naturally, they chose both), and disclosed the personal detail during an appearance at the 2022 Invictus Games in The Hague, Netherlands, according to The Daily Express.

While there, she met a mother of a boy named Harrison, to whom Meghan said “Harrison, that’s Archie’s middle name,” before adding that she and Harry “couldn’t decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name.” Meghan was “really open” and “really friendly” while sharing this bit of information, said Sherry McBain.

The Daily Express reports that Meghan was eight days overdue when giving birth to her firstborn, and that “traditionally members of the royal family don’t find out the gender of their baby prior to the birth, but Meghan reportedly revealed that she was expecting a baby boy to friends at her baby shower in early 2019,” The Daily Express writes.

After welcoming Archie in May 2019, Meghan gave birth to a daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, in June 2021.