Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to mark Prince Louis' birthday with heartwarming gesture despite family rift

Ben McCaffrey
Thu, 23 Apr 2026 19:42:55 +0000

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could celebrate Prince Louis' eighth birthday by sending gifts despite the ongoing family rift, a former royal butler has suggested.

Prince Louis marks his eighth birthday today and spent the day attending classes at Lambrook School in Windsor, where the term had recently resumed.

His father, on the other hand, was busy trying his hand in Formula E cars at the Jaguar TCS Racing headquarters in Oxfordshire.

But Louis' uncle, the Duke of Sussex, has reportedly maintained minimal contact with his brother's children since departing the UK in 2020.

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Despite ongoing speculation Harry, 41, might reconcile with senior members of the Royal Family—particularly following the King's cancer diagnosis—no such reunion has materialised.

Grant Harrold, a former royal butler who previously served King Charles, believes the Sussexes will nonetheless reach out to mark the occasion on the basis of Harry's excellent relationship with his nieces and nephews.

"I also think Harry and Meghan will send presents as well, or possibly vouchers. Hopefully it's not something from Meghan's new range - can you imagine?" he joked to Reach.

The 44-year-old Duchess recently launched her own line of candles for Mother's Day, which was met with criticism for using Archie and Lilibet's official royal titles.

Mr Harrold emphasised despite the well-documented family difficulties, the children themselves have never been part of the dispute.

"Harry was so close to his nieces and nephews. Despite everything that's happened, the issues have never been with the children, so I think the Sussexes will reach out on the day," he added.

As for the eight-year-old's birthday celebrations, he suggested: "I think William and Kate will throw Louis a party with his friends, just like any other child that age really.

"They might invite some members of the family as well, but the focus will be the birthday boy having fun with his pals."

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He said the Wales family remains committed to providing their children with ordinary experiences, viewing birthday celebrations as an essential part of that approach.

The Prince and Princess of Wales shared a new photograph of the birthday boy on social media to mark the special occasion.

The image, captured by photographer Matt Porteous in Cornwall earlier this month, accompanies a message from the couple reading: "Happy birthday, Louis! 8 today!"

But while the young prince enjoys his special day, Harry also made the headlines for a surprise visit to Ukraine.

Prince Harry arrived in Kyiv this morning, where he urged the international community to keep the embattled nation in its thoughts.

"It's good to be back in Ukraine," he said upon arrival.

He added he wished "to remind people back home and around the world what Ukraine is up against and to support the people and partners doing extraordinary work every hour of every day in incredibly tough conditions".

The Duke stressed Ukraine was "bravely and successfully defending Europe's eastern flank", emphasising "it matters that we don't lose sight of the significance of that".