King Charles III Faces Hesitation Over Birthday Call to Grandson Prince Archie
On the auspicious occasion of Prince Archie’s fifth birthday on May 6, 2024, King Charles III finds himself entangled in a delicate situation regarding his birthday greetings to his grandson. Prince Archie, the young son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is celebrating his birthday as his parents gear up for the Invictus Games anniversary and their impending trip to Nigeria.
According to royal commentator Tom Quinn, King Charles III is grappling with modern communication technology, making him “uncomfortable” about the prospect of an “ordinary” phone call or a video call to the Sussexes. Quinn highlights a nuanced dilemma faced by the 75-year-old monarch, who has a preference for traditional methods of communication. He noted, “King Charles dislikes new technology,” a sentiment echoed in Prince Harry’s memoir, ‘Spare’, where Harry recalls his father’s preference for letters over phone calls during his tours in Afghanistan, told by Mirror.
Despite his reservations, King Charles remains eager to maintain contact with his grandchildren who reside in Montecito, California. “Charles is desperate to keep in touch with his grandchildren on the other side of the Atlantic, so he will certainly call Harry and wish Archie [a] happy birthday,” Quinn shared.
The idea of a simple phone call also seems to be fraught with complexity for King Charles, mainly due to his strained relationship with his daughter-in-law, Meghan. “If he makes an ordinary telephone call to Harry,” Quinn explained, “it means he can have a quick word with Archie without the need to talk to Meghan, a prospect that fills him with dread.”
May 6 also marks a significant day for King Charles personally—it is the anniversary of his coronation in 2023, a ceremony attended by Harry in London, while Meghan stayed back in California with Archie and their daughter, Lilibet. Phil Dampier, another royal author, described the day as bittersweet for the monarch. “It’s a bittersweet day for the king when he marks the anniversary of his coronation as it’s also Archie’s birthday,” said Dampier.
Dampier further expressed sadness over the geographical and emotional distance between King Charles and his grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, who are growing up in America. “I’m sure it breaks Charles’s heart that his grandchildren are growing up on the West Coast with American accents, and yet he hardly knows them,” he lamented.
Despite these challenges, the King has reportedly remained a “doting granddad” to his other grandchildren, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, the children of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Dampier added, “Charles probably compensates for not seeing [Archie and Lilibet] by showering love on George, Charlotte, and Louis.”
As King Charles navigates these complex family dynamics, his efforts to connect with Archie on his birthday underscore the ongoing challenges and adjustments within the royal family, emphasizing the poignant nature of his role as both a monarch and a grandfather.