Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Children: All About Archie and Lilibet

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed two kids since marrying in 2018

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are proud parents of two royally adorable children.

The couple, who were married in May 2018, welcomed their first child, son Archie Harrison, in 2019 while they were still senior members of the Royal Family. In January 2020, they stepped back from their duties and later moved to Santa Barbara, California, where they had daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana in June 2021.

Prince Harry and Meghan retain their royal titles, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, but they don’t use them in daily life or carry out work on behalf of the royal family. Instead, Harry and Meghan are focused on initiatives like their charitable work through the Archewell Foundation, with which they support access to education, women’s empowerment and fighting racial injustice, as well as Meghan’s just-launched podcast, Archetypes.

“I see my mum’s legacy when I look at my own children every day,” Harry said during a speech at the 2022 Diana Award ceremony. The award is named after his late mother, who did extensive charitable work until her passing in 1997.

Prince Harry opened up about sharing another one of his passions with his kids to PEOPLE in April 2022. When asked what he wants Archie and Lili to know about his 10 years of service in the British Army, he said, “That I am grateful for every experience I had in and out of my uniform … That finding your purpose is one of the most gratifying experiences. And that working hard should be fulfilling and rewarding at the same time.”

While Harry and Meghan’s life at home with their kids in California is more relaxed than their previous routines as working royals, the Duke of Sussex has said that being parents of two is “definitely a juggle.” Despite the chaos, Harry told Serena Williams in 2022 that he and Meghan still find time for moments of self-care.

“Okay, one of the kids has gone to school. The other one’s taking a nap. There’s a break in our program,” he explained. “It’s like, right, it’s either work out, take the dog for a walk, get out in nature, maybe meditate.”

Archie and Lili did not receive the titles of prince and princess when they were born because they were great-grandchildren of the monarch. Though Archie was entitled to the “courtesy title” of Earl of Dumbarton upon his birth, his parents chose not to give him a courtesy title at that time.

Meghan previously told Oprah Winfrey that she would have accepted a title for Archie at birth if it had offered him security and “meant he was going to be safe.”

“And it’s not our decision to make,” she said. “Even though I have a lot of clarity of what comes with the titles, good and bad … that is their birthright to then make a choice about.”

However, once their grandfather King Charles became monarch, Archie and Lili were afforded the titles of prince and princess. The royal family’s official website was updated to reflect the children’s new titles of Prince Archie Harrison and Princess Lilibet Diana in March 2023.

In his memoir Spare, Harry wrote that he hopes that his children will have a meaningful relationship with the royal family.

During a January 2023 interview with PEOPLE, Harry explained further, “I’ve said before that I’ve wanted a family, not an institution — so of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy.”

He also shared that he’s glad his children got to spend time with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth before her death in 2022. “I will forever cherish every memory I had with her, especially the times she spent with my children.”

From the arrival of their firstborn to their low-key family life in California, here’s everything to know about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s two kids.

Harry and Meghan’s first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor was born on May 6, 2019, in London, England. “He has the sweetest temperament,” Meghan shared of her son while introducing the newborn to the world shortly after his birth. “He’s really calm.”

Meghan later revealed that the couple almost named their son Harrison before deciding on Archie, a shortened version of the name Archibald, meaning genuine and bold or brave. They instead made Harrison his middle name, which originated in the Middle Ages as a patronymic meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Harry.”

When he was only 4 months old, Archie joined his parents on a visit to South Africa, where he met anti-apartheid activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Meghan later shared that a fire broke out in the nursery where Archie was staying during the trip, and despite being “shaken” by the incident, the couple had to quickly leave their son for another scheduled engagement. Not long after the visit, Harry and Meghan announced their decision to step back from royal duties and split their time between the U.K. and North America.

Harry reflected on how his decision to step back from his royal duties to focus on being a father was particularly meaningful to him in light of his own mother’s experience raising children in the spotlight.

“I have no doubt that my mom would be incredibly proud of me. I’m living the life that she wanted to live for herself, living the life that she wanted us to be able to live,” Harry said in his docuseries The Me You Can’t See, co-created with Winfrey. “So not only do I know that she’s incredibly proud of me, but that she’s helped me get here. And I’ve never felt her presence more as I have done over the last year.”

On the show, Harry also revealed that there’s a picture of Princess Diana hanging in Archie’s nursery, and that one of his first words was “grandma,” after “mama,” “papa” and “crocodile.”

Archie had no problem adjusting to California life. “Archie is really happy, and he has space to run free,” a source told PEOPLE. “The house came with a play structure that he’ll be climbing in no time.”

Harry has said that Archie inherited some of his trademark cheekiness, which he views as a good thing. “I always try and keep that. I think that the cheekiness is something that keeps you alive,” he told host Hoda Kotb on the Today show. “There’s so much to be happy about in the outside world, but there’s also so much to worry about.”

Harry and Meghan are also emphasizing the importance of moral character with their son. “When I talk to my son Archie about what he wants to be when he grows up, some days it’s an astronaut, other days it’s a pilot — a helicopter pilot obviously,” he said at the opening of the 2022 Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick servicemembers and veterans.

“But what I remind him is that no matter what you want to be when you grow up, it’s your character that matters most, and nothing would make his mum and me prouder than to see him have the character of what we see before us today.”

Meghan echoed this sentiment during an interview with The Cut in August 2022. “We always tell him: ‘Manners make the man. Manners, manners, manners, manners, manners,’ ” she explained.

Through all of their charity work and advocacy, the Sussexes are working to make the world a better place. When asked what his hopes for his children are, Harry replied, “To grow up in a better world … To grow up in a fairer world, a safer world, a more equal world. It’s not going to be easy, but I will never, ever, ever rest until I as a parent have at least tried to make the world a better place for them.”

Archie was 2 when his little sister was born. On the Ellen DeGeneres Show, Meghan said he “loves being a big brother,” but there was an adjustment period. “Everyone talks about what it’s like for the second child, but no one talks about the adjustment for the first child when the second one comes along,” she said. “So I think they have this moment of, ‘Oh, this is fun. Oh, this how it is now.’ ”

Archie made a cute cameo on his parent’s Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which premiered on Dec. 8, 2022. In episode two of the series, Harry and his son stood on a balcony while several hummingbirds flew around them.

“We won’t get a chance to be this close to hummingbirds ever again,” Harry said to Archie. The boy asked why.

“Just watch. Because they are scared of humans,” Harry explained. “These guys, look at them.” However, Archie seemed adorably uninterested, preferring to crouch down and inspect his feet. He told his mother, who was off camera, that his foot was dirty as Harry laughed.

Archie’s 4th birthday on May 6, 2023, coincided with another very special occasion — his grandfather King Charles’ coronation. While Prince Harry headed to London to support his father, Meghan remained in California to celebrate Archie’s birthday.

“It’s going to be a low-key party at home,” a source told PEOPLE of Archie’s birthday plans ahead of the big day. “They’ll have friends around them and Meghan’s mom, Doria [Ragland]. Meghan will definitely have support that weekend.”

Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, 2
Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021, in Santa Barbara, California. Harry and Meghan also had a sentimental reason for choosing their daughter’s name: Lilibet was the private nickname of Queen Elizabeth (given to her as a child due to her difficulty pronouncing “Elizabeth”) and Harry and the Queen were especially close.

“On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili,” the couple announced on the Archewell Foundation website. “She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”

Harry and Meghan had previously expressed their excitement about welcoming a daughter when speaking to Oprah ahead of Lili’s arrival. “To have a boy, then a girl — what more can you ask for?” Harry said, adding that they are not planning on having any more children: “Two is it.”

Just a few days after Lili was born, Meghan published her first children’s book, The Bench. In the dedication, she wrote, “For the man and the boy who make my heart go pump-pump.” The book also includes a sweet nod to Lili: the final illustration features a woman, representing Meghan, standing in a garden with a baby in a sling while Harry and Archie feed chickens on a nearby bench.

The first time the world saw a glimpse of baby Lili was on the Sussexes’ 2021 holiday card. “This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’, and Lili made us a family,” Harry and Meghan wrote. “As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families — from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave.”

In June 2022, the whole family visited England for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebration. It was the first time Lili met her great-grandmother and her grandfather Prince Charles, who reportedly had an “emotional” visit with his granddaughter.

The family also celebrated her first birthday with a backyard picnic at Frogmore Cottage, the official royal residence of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Shortly after, Harry and Meghan released the first portrait of Lili, sharing a glimpse of her red hair, which she inherited from her father.

Lili also made an appearance in her parents’ Netflix docuseries. In the footage, Harry read little Lilibet a story as she sat on her father’s lap surrounded by some of the family’s dogs.

“What’s most important for the two of us is to make sure that we don’t repeat the same mistakes that perhaps our parents made,” Harry said over a collection of videos and images of their kids.

“There’s so much I think from anyone’s childhood that you bring with you into the present,” Meghan added. “Especially when you’re the product of divorce.”

During the final episode of Harry & Meghan, Tyler Perry made an appearance — and shared that he’s godfather to Lili. The Hollywood filmmaker said that when Harry and Meghan first asked him, he was “absolutely honored,” though his second thought was that he didn’t want to participate in an official royal ceremony.

“I called them back and go, ‘Uh, hold on a second — does this mean we gotta go over [to the U.K.] and do all of that in church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? ‘Cause I don’t wanna do that,’ ” Perry said. ” ‘Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here [in the U.S.] and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that’s okay.’ ”

On March 3, 2023, Lili was christened by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor, during an intimate ceremony at Harry and Meghan’s home in Montecito, California. An insider told PEOPLE that there were roughly 30 guests present, including Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, Lilibet’s godfather, Tyler Perry, and an unnamed godmother.