Prince Archie reacted adorably after smashing a Christmas tree ornament modelled on the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Meghan Markle had given Prince Harry the festive bauble, which hung from the Sussexes’ Christmas tree during their first festive season together in the United States.
The Duke of Sussex reveals details of the gift, which Meghan spotted in a local shop, in his best-selling memoir, Spare.
He recounts how he roared in surprise, “What the..?”, as he received the ornament, which he says showed “Granny’s face to a T”.
Harry goes on to recall how he hung it on a branch at eye level, adding: “It made me happy to see her there. It made Meg and me smile.”
But the gift didn’t last long as Archie, who was then 19 months old, accidentally broke it.
His father writes: “Archie, playing around the tree, jostled the stand, shook the tree and Granny fell. I heard a smash and turned. Pieces lay all over the floor.”
Archie, who is now aged five, grabbed a spray bottle, thinking spraying water on the broken bits would fix it, according to Harry’s recollection.
But Meghan told Archie: “No, Archie, no – do not spray Gan-Gan!” The prince goes on to recall how he was thinking “this is weird” as he swept up the smashed ornament with a dust pan and brush.
The intimate insight into one of the Sussexes’ Christmases comes after the family enjoyed another yuletide across the pond.
Harry and Meghan rarely expose their children, Archie and Princess Lilibet, aged three, to the limelight. The younger Sussexes’ faces aren’t shown in the couple’s Christmas card this year – instead the backs of the children are shown as they appear to run up to their parents for hugs.
This Christmas was another spent apart from Archie and Lilibet’s royal cousins, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.
The younger Waleses celebrated Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family at Sandringham House, appearing with King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Princess Kate and other royals on a traditional Christmas Day walkabout.
Meghan recently revealed a sweet tradition of the Sussexes’ own, telling Marie Claire she puts out carrots for the reindeer.
The Duchess told the publication she wants the couple’s children to experience the “magic” of such traditions as “great recipes that they end up connecting to a formative memory”.
