The Gist
Prince Harry is reportedly “sad” that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, don’t have a relationship with their extended family.
The duke was seemingly reminded of this after Prince William and Kate Middleton shared a photo of his niece Princess Charlotte on her birthday.
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, are raising their kids away from the royal spotlight in Motencito, California.
Prince Harry has spent the better part of six years establishing a new life for himself in California, but that doesn’t mean the Spare author doesn’t miss some parts of his old life in the U.K. Perhaps most notably, the duke is reportedly “sad” that his children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, don’t have a relationship with their extended family. Harry was seemingly reminded of this after Prince William and Kate Middleton recently posted a photo of his niece Princess Charlotte on her 11th birthday.
“Archie and Lili are having a lovely time in California, but Harry is very sad that they are missing out on life with the rest of their family,” an old friend of Harry’s told The Daily Mail. “Harry feels his children are missing out on the extensive family network that their cousins are enjoying.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with their son Archie on a royal tour of South Africa in September 2019.
Credit: Getty Images
The friend also noted that Harry wants his and Meghan Markle’s kids to have “the very best education,” which would potentially mean sending them to an English boarding school.
“He has retained his closest friendship group of confidants from his days at school at Ludgrove and Eton,” they explained. “He wants that for his own children.”
Prince Harry at Eton College in November 2001.
Credit: Getty Images
Rumors that Archie would follow in his father’s footsteps by enrolling at Eton were shut down last fall, however, by a rep for the Sussexes. “I can confirm that Prince Harry has not put Archie’s name down for Eton, and that the Duke has no plans to send his son to Eton,” they told E!. The aforementioned Daily Mail report likewise claimed that Meghan considers the boarding school system to be “barbaric.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum in April 2026.
Credit: Getty Images
Archie and Lilibet have spent minimal time in the U.K. since their parents relocated to California in early 2020. (Indeed, Lilibet was born in America and has been to England exactly once, for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.) Last year, Harry claimed it would be “impossible” to bring his family back to his native country; however, that was refuted a few months later when it appeared that his taxpayer-funded security in the U.K. was likely to be reinstated. Whether or not the foursome will actually reunite with the rest of the British royal family remains to be seen, however.
Read the original article on InStyle