When it came out that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle weren't planning to bring baby Archie back to the UK for their final appearance as senior royals, people were super upset. After all, Archie has a family in the UK, and the Queen and Prince Philip are both in their 90s. It's hard to say how many more visits the family might all have together.
Unfortunately, it didn't work out for the family this time, and Meghan and Harry have a pretty relatable reason for why they left Archie at home in Canada: They were worried about the spread of the coronavirus. While some royals have laughed off the pandemic, it seems that Harry and Meghan decided to err on the side of caution.
Several friends of the couple have spoken about their parenting style, and it sounds like both Harry and Meghan are delighted to be parents and that it really suits them. They were said to be FaceTiming with Archie every day while they were gone.
It also sounds like Archie is becoming quite the exciting little guy! A source told People magazine, "He’s doing great. He’s grabbing onto things and picking himself up. He’s starting to have movement, which is really exciting."
The family also loves their more private life in Canada. "They are enjoying living a quiet life. They go for long walks, they do yoga, and Meghan cooks. They are real homebodies who love to chill out with Archie and the dogs."
The same friend praised both Harry and Meghan's parenting skills. "They are really happy. Harry is the best dad — he’s so into it. And Meghan is a natural."
The pair are also getting ready to move ahead with their new nonprofit organization. Their hope is that they can "develop a new way to effect change and complement the efforts made by so many excellent foundations globally."
Meghan also makes sure that Archie gets a lot of time outside. A source told Us Weekly that "Meghan takes a walk with Archie every single day through the woods. She either pushes him in a stroller through the paved trails through the public woods by their home or straps him on and walks the more rustic routes. The walks usually last around an hour or two, but she takes them daily."
Walking so much also means that Meghan runs into locals, who all have great things to say about her. They've commented that she is "very kind to the locals she meets while hiking" and that she's "all around pleasant to strangers. She is telling friends that she is so happy to be out in nature and [in] their secluded area."
It also sounds like Meghan is really, truly happy. A source shared, "That look of joy on her face is real. She’s gotten exactly what she wanted."
And the idea of Meghan and Archie taking long walks together is pretty sweet. It sounds like Meghan really wants to make sure he has a love of nature.
Recently, a woman who attended the Endeavor Awards alongside Harry and Meghan said that they were happy to talk about their son. "She said, ‘Oh yes, well, he is 10 months now and is into everything.’"
This matches up with what others have said: that Harry and Meghan have really been prioritizing their nuclear family.
As a friend of the pair told People recently, "Archie is the priority. It’s very much still about taking care of him and putting the family first. He’s a happy kid — he loves to laugh. Archie and Harry have such a good time together. And Meghan is a great mom. She’s very much about tending to him. They are trying to live their life as regular parents."
We've also recently learned that one of Archie's godparents is a close friend of the family: Prince William and Prince Harry's former nanny, Tiggy Pettifer. It's also believed that his godfather is Mark Dyer, "who served as an equerry to Harry’s father, Prince Charles, and went on to become a mentor and close friend of Harry’s following the death of his mother, Princess Diana."
Both of the people named as godparents were at Harry and Meghan's wedding, and Mark's son was a page boy as well. It also turns out that Harry is godfather to both of Mark's sons, Jasper and Tom.
Harry's good friend Charlie van Straubenzee is also reportedly a godparent.
At the time of Archie's christening, Harry and Meghan declined to name their son's godparents, which is a departure from what the royal family usually does. This was because they "are friends, private citizens, not celebrities or public figures. Meghan and Harry wanted to protect them from the inevitable onslaught: ‘When did you meet them? How?’ That was the driving reason [to keep them private]. It’s a very personal thing to ask somebody to be a godparent."
