Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated their daughter Lilibet’s birthday in California style this weekend, with a birthday party at their Montecito mansion.
People The magazine confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whose daughter Lili turns three today, hosted a “pre-birthday party” at their £12 million ($14 million) home over the weekend.
The party was open to “family and close friends”; However, the guest list has not been released and it is unclear which members of the Sussex family attended. Femail has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Lilibet’s third birthday comes after her parents shared a rare insight into their daughter’s personality in recent weeks, during their 72-hour tour of Nigeria.
Princess Lilibet will celebrate her second birthday today, after celebrating her first birthday at Frogmore Cottage last year (pictured) while the family was in the UK for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Meghan, 42, revealed to school students that her daughter’s favorite class at nursery was dancing, “probably because of all the jumping.”
The third birthday party is not the first party the Sussexes have hosted at their home in honor of Lili, after also hosting a christening celebration for her in 2023.
The dukes hosted the religious ceremony, which was carried out by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Reverend John Taylor, in March.
People magazine reported that there were between 20 and 30 guests at the event, including Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and Lilibet’s godfather, Tyler Perry.
They were serenaded by a gospel choir, believed to have performed Oh Happy Day and This Little Light of Mine, a song played at Meghan and Harry’s wedding.
Meanwhile, a source revealed that after the ceremony, “attendees enjoyed an afternoon of food and dancing, and Archie enjoyed a dance with his little sister!”
A source also told the magazine that Lilibet’s uncles, the Prince and Princess of Wales, grandfather King Charles and step-grandmother the Queen Consort, had been invited to the event but had not attended.
However, even though no senior royals from Harry’s paternal family attended the christening, some of his close relatives were reportedly present.
Prince Harry and Meghan with their two children in a Christmas card they released in December 2021
Photos shared by the Sussexes’ friend and professional photographer Misan Harriman include a snap of Meghan holding Lilibet while with the photographer’s wife, Camilla Holmstroem, and their two daughters on Lilibet’s first birthday.
Lilibet’s seemingly stunning birthday cake made the previous year, adorned with peonies, tasted the same as at the Sussexes’ wedding, but was topped with strawberry buttercream.
Marie Claire reported that Harry’s aunts on his mother’s side, Princess Diana, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, had attended the christening.
Both Harry and William have remained close to their aunts and uncles on their mother’s side since Princess Diana’s death in 1997.
Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021, in California. Although she has lived there her entire life, little Ella celebrated her first birthday in the United Kingdom, at the former Sussex residence, Frogmore Cottage.
The couple held a “relaxed” first birthday party for Lilibet in the garden of the royal residence that included a birthday cake, balloons, board games and picnic snacks.
Those said to have also been at Frogmore Cottage include Zara and Mike Tindall’s three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas, as well as Savannah and Isla, daughters of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly.
It is understood that Archie’s godfather, Charlie Van Straubenzee, and his brother Tom, Princess Charlotte’s godfather, were also invited.
Few details were given about Lilibet’s christening, but it took place at Harry and Meghan’s luxurious and elegant home in Santa Barbara, California, which royal fans caught glimpses of in the couple’s Netflix documentary. In the photo: Meghan with Lilibet when she was a newborn.
Among the gifts apparently was a pastel pink VW Beetle ride-on car, £75 from Selfridges, while Sussex supporters donated $100,000 to charities in his honour.
Charles may have bought her a swing similar to the one he bought for Prince George, after an aide to the Sussexes was seen unloading it from his private jet in Santa Barbara.
Photos from the event included a sweet snap of the baby sitting on the grass outside Frogmore Cottage, smiling in the sunshine, which was taken by Misan Harriman.
Another photo from the event showed Meghan holding Lilibet as they posed with the photographer’s wife, Camilla Holmstroem, a former Goldman Sachs banker turned businesswoman, and their two daughters, both with their faces painted, one of the activities scheduled for guests.
But while Harriman also shared a photo of him smiling with his eldest son on Instagram and Twitter, no photos of Harry and Archie were posted.
East London baker Claire Ptak, who made the couple’s wedding cake in 2018, created new treats for the low-key party. She later shared a photo of a small cake covered in peonies that could be the one guests would enjoy.
In another post, Claire revealed a second photo of the three-tier cake that had her name written on a flag attached to the dessert.
She revealed that it was flavored with lemon and elderflower, just like the Sussexes’ wedding cake in 2018, but had been topped with strawberry buttercream especially for the birthday girl.
Royal expert Jennie Bond said OK! Magazine Lilibet’s second birthday could be a star-studded event in the United States.
She said: “I would expect to see a handful of celebrities and a relaxed party, hopefully including some other young children.”
“It would be nice to think that the day might include a video call to Lilibet’s grandfather, King Charles, and hopefully some sort of gift has been arranged to be delivered to Montecito for her birthday.”
In March, the Sussexes confirmed that Princess Lilibet had been baptized in Montecito, California, after reports of an “intimate” gathering at the Sussex mansion appeared in People magazine.
It was also confirmed that King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales were invited to the event but did not attend.