When she was born five years ago in an exclusive London hospital, a week late, she was, according to her beaming father, “absolutely to die for”.
Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor weighed 7lb 3oz and was born at 5.26am in a room adorned with electric candles and a photograph of Princess Diana.
Initial images released two days later showed him being introduced to the late Queen and Prince Philip, his great-grandparents, and Doria Ragland, his grandmother.
Speaking from Windsor on the day his son was born, Prince Harry said delightedly that Archie’s birth was “the most amazing experience I could have ever imagined”.
Prince Archie, who turns five today, seen with his parents, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and his younger sister Lilibet in 2021.
Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor weighed 7lb 3oz and was born at 5.26am in a room adorned with electric candles and a photograph of Princess Diana.
Archie is seen sitting on his father’s shoulders in an image that was revealed in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary.
But, due to the royal split that caused him and Meghan to move to California, he only spent the first five months of his life in the UK.
It has meant that, as the duke previously said, the United States feels like “home”.
Details of Archie’s golden life with his younger sister Lilibet, two, were revealed in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary series last year.
He was seen chasing seagulls on the beach, helping his parents pick oranges in the garden and playing with his two beloved family dogs: Labrador Pula and a Beagle named Guy.
It was previously revealed that Archie attends preschool and will begin his full-time education when he turns six. He could also enroll him in kindergarten in the fall, now that he is five years old.
When Meghan was in labor at the private hospital in Portland, Harry revealed he used laughing gas intended for his wife to calm her nerves and said the couple’s bodyguards gave them a Nando’s takeaway.
During the delivery, the couple also listened to songs by German artist Deva Premal, who turned Sanskrit mantras into music.
When the contractions accelerated, Meghan climbed into a bathtub to deliver the baby and received an epidural to ease the pain of labor.
Harry said he held Meghan’s hand as she pushed to give birth to Archie, and revealed he had a complicated birth and described his son’s head as “tangled.”
Archie walks on the beach with his mother and their pet beagle, Guy.
Archie plays with a toy grand piano in an image revealed in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary
Archie with his mother Meghan on his first birthday in 2020. He turned five today
Archie with his mother during her royal tour of South Africa with her husband Prince Harry
Once Archie was born, his parents cried with joy. His first home was Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle.
A clip from the Netflix series showed him looking at his father from a rocking chair, while a photo showed him looking at his nanny Lorren Khumalo, who had wrapped him in a yellow and brown cloth, traditional in Zimbabwe.
Another emotional clip of the young royal showed Archie touching a photo of his late grandmother Princess Diana on the wall of their nursery at Frogmore Cottage.
Meghan was heard saying: ‘Who is that? Hello Grandma.’
In October 2019, Prince Harry and Meghan announced they would be taking six weeks off from royal duties to spend “family time” with their newborn.
They traveled to Canada and stayed for a time on Vancouver Island.
However, in January the following year, the couple said they would “step back as senior members of the Royal Family” and split their time between the UK and North America.
In March 2020, just before the pandemic shut down many parts of the world, the couple and their young son had moved to Los Angeles.
In July of that year, they moved into their Santa Barbara home in Montecito, which reportedly cost them $14 million.
The house is close to her famous friend Oprah Winfrey, as well as other showbiz stars such as Ellen DeGeneres, Katy Perry and her husband Orlando Bloom.
Meghan and Harry smile as they show off their newborn son to the world at St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle.
Harry and Meghan show off baby Archie to his great-grandparents, the late Queen and Prince Philip, and his maternal grandmother Doria Ragland.
Archie on his christening day in July 2019 with his parents and (from left) Queen Camilla, King Charles, Doria Ragland, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Harry and Meghan’s 11-bedroom mansion spans 20 acres of land, between the Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.
On June 4, 2021, the family welcomed Archie’s little sister, Lilibet, who will turn three in less than a month.
In an interview with The Cut magazine, Meghan told how Archie enjoyed pretending to be a doctor with a toy stethoscope and said one of his favorite things to eat is a quesadilla.
Other images from the Netflix series show the young royal showing off his musical talent, playing a small piano.
He is also seen calling a sunset “beautiful” and watching a hummingbird with his father.
“We will never have the opportunity to be so close to hummingbirds again,” Prince Harry told his son.
Despite asking her little one to stay quiet and watch the wildlife, the boy exclaimed: ‘My feet are dirty, mom, because I was with you!’
When their great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, died in September 2022, Archie and Lilibet remained in California and were cared for by their maternal grandmother, Doria Ragland, and their nannies.
Baby Archie seen in the arms of his grandmother Doria Ragland as she sits next to Meghan and Harry at Frogmore Cottage
Prince Archie is not believed to have spent any birthdays with his British family.
Before Archie’s arrival, Meghan had a dazzling New York shower hosted by Serena Williams at The Mark, a luxurious uptown hotel.
Guests, including Amal Clooney and Gayle King, enjoyed a flower arranging class.
The five-day celebration, which cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, sparked criticism when it emerged that Meghan had flown to New York on a private jet.