Sad confession about Meghan and Harry from the queen

Early in 2020 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made it clear that they wanted to withdraw from British royal life. And their decision to become more private and to split their time between the United Kingdom and North America has had plenty of ramifications.So, the Queen has now given a moving insight into how it will affect her relationship with their child, Archie.The resplendently named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is the first child borne by Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.Proud dad Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, revealed the birth on May 9, 2019 when speaking to the media at his family’s home. Indeed, he told the press that the newborn weighed in at a little more than 7 pounds.It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever possibly have imagined. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension,” Harry told The Independent in 2019.“But we’re both absolutely thrilled… and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there.

It’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody.The prince, you see, had been there while Archie was born, and he was understandably overjoyed at the result. “I’m so incredibly proud of my wife,” he said.“And as every father and parent would say, your baby is absolutely amazing. But this little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m absolutely over the moon.But the Duke of Sussex wasn’t the only person at Meghan’s side. That’s right, her mother, Doria Ragland, also helped the Duchess through the ordeal. According to the rumor mill, she wanted to be present because Meghan is an older mother.And Ragland was reportedly “overjoyed” to welcome what was her very first grandkid.Archie’s birth was, as expected, widely celebrated. Some locations around the world were even lit up to mark out a welcome for the new royal.The CN Tower and Niagara Falls showed pride in the royal pair’s connection with Canada – which we’ll hear more about later – while the London Eye was also bathed in multicolored light.And a couple of days after the birth, the couple let the world know what they had decided to call the boy.The name certainly set tongues wagging, too. Is Archie actually an anagram? Meghan’s first name is Rachel, after all.Is Harrison a clever pun on “Harry’s son”? It seems, however, that neither was the case and that the child was named after Major Tom Archer-Burton, affectionately known as “Archie,” who played a big part in Harry’s military service.Indeed, when Harry was informed that he wouldn’t be allowed to serve in Iraq back in 2007, “Archie” stepped in to persuade him to remain in the Army. He also helped to maintain the confidentiality of Harry’s service, which the prince has always appreciated.Archie and Harry subsequently became good pals, as was demonstrated when the soldier was spotted at the couple’s nuptials.Regarding the inspiration for Archie’s name, however, an insider shared the gossip with The Sun newspaper.They said, “It’s well known in Army circles, and Archie’s inner circle, that baby Archie is a nod to him. The two men have stayed in regular contact, and Archie has met most of Harry’s family including Meghan.” But the source also added that the older Archie was far too modest to accept any credit for the name.

Even though Harry and Meghan didn’t give the younger Archie any fancy titles, he did receive an interesting surname.And it comes with a particularly intriguing history, too. You see, at the time when the Queen took the throne, her husband, Prince Philip, had wanted their future children to bear his name: Mountbatten.It hadn’t been allowed, however, and the prince was said to have been furious.So, the house name of the royal family continued to be Windsor – for a while, anyway.Indeed, Prince Philip did gain a concession from the Queen in the end. Because she seemingly loves her husband very much and after perhaps realizing how much the ordeal had hurt him, she made a change before Prince Andrew was born.As a result, British royals now have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. Had Philip won out before she took the throne, though, they might have been called Edinburgh, which is his ducal name.As you may remember, Archie’s christening happened a couple of months after his birth. The small service was held in the Queen’s Windsor chapel, and it housed only a couple dozen invitees who watched as the Archbishop of Canterbury baptized Archie with Jordan River water.The happy parents were subsequently able to post pictures for their social media followers, although they didn’t release any details of who acted as Archie’s godparents at the time.When the godparents’ names leaked out a few months later, however, it may have come as a surprise that the couple didn’t opt for any celebrities. Tiggy Pettifer, who’d been Harry’s nanny, was godmother, and his buddy Mark Dyer was godfather.These are people who helped support Harry following the fatal accident suffered by his mom, Princess Diana.Since royals usually have a bunch of godparents, it wasn’t a surprise that another friend, Charlie van Straubenzee, was also an alleged godfather – and perhaps there were a few more who remained a secret, too.But the list probably didn’t include brother Prince William or his wife Kate Middleton. Why? Well, the belief is that an uncle or aunt are already part of your life, so you don’t need them as godparents.Archie, then, is the Queen’s eighth great-grandchild, the latest of a growing brood who know the monarch of the United Kingdom as “Gan-Gan.” The eldest is Savannah Phillips, granddaughter of the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne.Anne’s son, Peter, has a couple of kids, as does her daughter, Zara. And Prince William, of course, has three.Because of the somewhat complicated rules of the British royalty, Archie isn’t a prince.His parents didn’t want him to have any kind of title, either. He could have been known as the Earl of Dumbarton – one of Harry’s titles – but both Harry and Meghan seemingly decided against it.However, Archie’s cousins are princes and a princess. The eldest of them, Prince George, is actually third in line for the British throne (first is Charles; second is William).He’s thought to be good for business in the U.K. and even had special coins struck when he was born. George, as you may well be aware, is sometimes seen with his parents at public events.George’s little sister, Princess Charlotte, is next in line for the throne. This represents a change from the past, however. Yes, the 2011 Perth Agreement changed the way that the British crown would pass so that girls now have the same rights as boys.The result was that when her younger brother, Prince Louis, came into the world, he didn’t take her place in the line.After the christening photos, which had given a brief glimpse of Archie, he next appeared before the cameras on a jaunt to the Billingbear Polo Club near London.He had the day out alongside his royal cousins and looked on as his dad played polo.

 Noticeably, mom Meghan kept a very tight grip on her baby.Archie was then seen again when Mom and Dad released a picture to mark the onset of 2020.It came next to a jolly New Year’s message, although people may well have noted that public viewings of the youngster had been strictly limited. As it turned out, however, Harry and Meghan’s future was to be much more private than anyone had expected.Early in January 2020, you see, the royal couple told their social media followers that they wouldn’t be working as “senior royals” anymore. In the event known as “Megxit” – a joke name referencing the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union, Brexit – the pair would share their time between the U.K. and Canada, and they would even provide for themselves financially.What followed their announcement was a series of talks with both the Queen and the rest of the senior royals. On January 13, for instance, Harry and Meghan attended the “Sandringham Summit,” where they figured out what would happen going forward.The upshot was that the couple would no longer do royal duties. And the monarch subsequently made a personal statement, which is very rare for her.Today my family had very constructive discussions on the future of my grandson and his family.My family and I are entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family,” the Queen wrote. “Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.Harry and Meghan have made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,” the British monarch continued. “It has therefore been agreed that there will be a period of transition in which the Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the U.K. These are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there is some more work to be done, but I have asked for final decisions to be reached in the coming days.The couple hasn’t been entirely cut adrift, however. Harry will still receive some money from his dad, Prince Charles, for example. And the fact that Harry and Meghan are free to make deals on their own is likely to mean that they won’t be short of cash.Megxit had been a long time coming, with Harry and Meghan gradually withdrawing from their public duties. This seemingly meant that Archie didn’t get to spend much time with his father’s side of the family.Indeed, it’s thought that Archie has only hung out with his cousins, William’s brood, on a few occasions.And it’s not just the kids who haven’t seen much of Archie.Despite the fact that the Queen did spend time with him a couple of days after his birth when he came to visit Windsor Castle, she didn’t get to go to his christening.Unfortunately, she and her husband, Philip, had another engagement to attend to.As we mentioned, Archie caught the photographers’ eyes when he appeared at his dad’s polo match, and that occasion in July 2019 was the last time he’s was pictured with his cousins.What’s more, the family didn’t spend Christmas with the Queen, choosing instead to stay in Canada during the festive period.And now that Archie’s parents are aiming to spend lots of the year Canada, the time that the baby spends with the Queen is likely to be even less.

In January 2020 an insider spoke to U.K. newspaper The Sunday Times and revealed how the monarch really felt about this change. They said, “She will be very sad to have barely seen Archie and that he will miss out on growing up with his cousins and wider family.Indeed, for the first couple of months in 2020 the youngster hadn’t seen English soil. He’d been in Canada with Meghan instead. Despite the recent announcement, the family’s plans about how they’ll spend their time aren’t too clear, so when Archie is going to see his “Gan-Gan” is an issue that remains unresolved.Distance between relatives in the royal family isn’t necessarily a new occurrence, however. That’s right, the Queen reportedly hasn’t always been close to her immediate family, and she apparently wasn’t all that involved in the upbringing of her first son, Charles.In his authorized biography, which came out in 1994, the prince claimed that the staff in his nursery had been the ones who’d nurtured him the most.Charles’ sister, Anne, has seems to have a different story, though.While she agrees that the nannies played an important role in the royal household, she remembers the Queen taking a keen interest in her kids. “I simply don’t believe there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasn’t caring,” Anne said during a 2002 interview with the BBC.And it seems that the Queen became more attentive with each successive child, with her youngest – Prince Edward – being her alleged favorite.Traditionally, the British Royal family tends to all meet up at Christmas time.Most make the trek to Sandringham, one of the Queen’s U.K. residences, to join her for some festive fun. The British sovereign can then enjoy the role of great-grandmother with the little ones.But she does have a particular rule: the kids have their Christmas lunch at their own table.For his part, Charles reportedly loves his nickname of “Grandpa Wales.” He is, of course, the Prince of Wales, and Harry has used “Wales” as a surname in the past. Charles enjoys spending time with William and his wife and kids.And despite Harry and Meghan’s absence, the rest of the family turned up at Sandringham for Christmas in 2019.Like the Queen, however, the lack of time that Charles has been able to spend with Archie has apparently left him feeling disappointed.“Where will Archie’s heritage and roots be? What about Diana’s family, the Spencers?” an insider said to The Sunday Times in January 2020. “Harry and William know all too well how damaging an unsettled childhood can be.Harry, too, admitted that the family’s withdrawal from royal life had caused “great sadness.” But he seemingly didn’t let it stop him from appreciating the joys of fatherhood.

For instance, in January 2020, the new father addressed people from Sentebale – the AIDS foundation that he helped set up – and he discussed with glee how Archie had reveled in his first encounter with snow.According to Today, Harry told his audience, “When I lost my mom 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You looked out for me for so long. But the media is a powerful force.And my hope is one day, our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this is so much bigger than just us. It has been our privilege to serve you, and we will continue to lead a life of service.So in that respect, nothing changes,” the Duke of Sussex continued. “It has also been a privilege to meet so many of you and to feel your excitement for our son, Archie, who saw snow for the first time the other day and thought it was bloody brilliant.Harry then attempted to explain why Megxit had happened. “It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges,” he said. “And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as this goes, there really was no other option.” And Canadians are very likely to see lots more of Archie, as his parents plan to spend lots of time in Canada in future.Even with Archie gone, though, the Queen will still have a family to spend time with.She’s said to be very close to her granddaughter Zara Tindall, for instance. Yes, she apparently loves Zara’s company because they’re not “intellectuals” and can relax in each other’s company And as one insider pointed out, the Queen allegedly enjoys a giggle as much as anyone.