Many royal fans were delighted to see that Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Prince William all wished Archie Harrison a happy birthday as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated their son's second birthday. Behind the scenes, however, the well-wishes were allegedly a little awkward.
For one, hawk-eyed royal fans noted that Prince Charles didn't post for the recent birthdays of two of his other grandchildren, Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte. They therefore noted the post for Archie as a genuine attempt to mend broken fences. However, sources also noted that the attempt still had a tinge of awkwardness to it considering they've been recycling the same four photos of Archie since he was born.
The Daily Mail's royal expert, Rebecca English, has noted that Archie has only met his grandpa in person twice. Many wonder how much of a relationship Archie can have with the royal family considering the physical distance between them.
Prince Charles' birthday wishes to grandson Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor on his second birthday were heartwarming for many royal fans. Behind the scenes, however, royal expert Rebecca English says there were some complicated feelings surrounding the post. Mainly, there was alleged discomfort around using a photo of the little boy as an infant.
"In the end they were forced to use press photos taken just after he was born and from his official christening pictures, highlighting just how little he has seen of his British family," she wrote for the Daily Mail.
Of course, other royal accounts used equally outdated photos of Archie. This isn't all that unusual, however, considering Harry and Meghan aren't releasing photos of their son either. Nearly all the images of Archie they've willingly shared have avoided showing his face, which some have made horrifying rumors over. The report went on to make note of the fact that Archie has an American accent and has only met Prince Charles in person twice.
"The truth is the Prince of Wales has barely seen his grandson twice since he was born," a source told Rebecca.
"In fact every member of Harry's family can easily count on one hand the number of times they saw Archie after he was born and before the family left the UK. It's a very sad situation."
That said, everyone acknowledges that this wasn't Harry and Meghan's initial intention when planning their move to the US. They couldn't have anticipated how difficult the health crisis would make travel or how long it would last. Harry had thought he'd be able to pop back into the UK every month or so to continue to see family, at times with Meghan and Archie by his side.
Of course, there are also the various strains on relationships in the family to consider. As things open up again, it's unlikely Harry and Meghan will be in the UK too frequently, since they'll have a newborn to look after in just a matter of weeks. That time could give them more opportunity to work things out from afar, or it could bridge the existing gap between members of the family.
Archie's relationships with members of the royal family will undoubtedly look different from that of his cousins. That said, that's also the case with the previous generations of the family. Though Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip made a point of having relationships with all of their grandchildren, there's no questioning they spent more time with Charles' children (and possibly Andrew's) than Anne's or Edward's, and that's with everyone living in one country.
There is something different when it comes to Harry and Meghan, however. Not since Diana has the royal family publicly had such ugliness from within. Harry and Meghan's situation involves younger kids and a farther distance. While all hope isn't lost for relationships between their children and the royals, there also shouldn't be an expectation that Harry and Meghan are the only ones who need to make it happen.
It will be interesting to see when Harry and Meghan make their first trip to the UK as a family of four. They will surely wait until a safe time, and in the meantime, the family will do the best they can to stay in touch from afar. When it comes to making an effort and showing signs of change, the ball is totally in the royals' court.
