DUCK OF SUSSEX
Meghan Markle reads to son Archie as Prince Harry quacks like a duck in sweet video released for his first birthday
MEGHAN Markle and Prince Harry have shared a sweet video of them reading a book to baby Archie to celebrate his first birthday today.
The mum is seen reading 'Duck! Rabbit!' to the birthday boy as proud dad Harry films them - quacking in the background.
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The book is one of Archie's favourite stories - with the one-year-old giggling and helping to turn the pages in the adorable clip.
And Meghan - who wore a casual denim shirt and shorts in a departure from the more royal wardrobe - beamed as she played with her little boy to celebrate his first birthday.
In the video, the mum, 38, encourages Archie to read along - revealing her nickname for her son as she cooed "let's go to the next page, look Arch".
At one point, the little boy appears to get upset but is quickly cheered up by his mum as she reads the storybook.
And in the cute home movie, Archie is then distracted as he grabs a second book with Meghan laughing "Let's finish this book first".
Harry is heard chuckling at his son's antics from behind the camera.
As Meghan finishes up the book, she cuddles and kisses her son's head as Harry, 35, cheers and cries "the end!" and "bravo".
Happy Archie then looks at his dad grinning as he chews on the corner of the book - babbling "dada".
The young royal - who is the spitting image of his dad - sports a full head of hair and several new teeth in the video, which is thought to have been recorded in California where Meghan and Harry are now living.
The video was shared on Instagram by Save the Children to help raise urgent funds for the charity's coronavirus appeal that has seen other celebs including Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams read stories.
They said: "Duck! Rabbit! with Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex (and Harry, The Duke of Sussex behind the camera), read to their son Archie for his 1st birthday.
"Happy Birthday, Archie!
"Thank you Duchess Meghan for helping us to raise urgent funds for our coronavirus appeal by reading "Duck! Rabbit" by @akrfoundation, illustrated by @tlichtenheld (published by @chroniclekidsbooks)."
The popular book, by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, playfully asks whether an ambiguous image is a duck or a rabbit.
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The little boy - who is seventh in line to the throne - is expected to mark his first birthday with Zoom calls to his aunt Kate and uncle William.
And in a message posted on Twitter this morning, the Cambridges wished Archie a "very happy first birthday" today.
The sweet note was shared online along with a photograph of the family posing at his christening.
Proud grandparents Prince Charles and Camilla also joined the birthday wishes, sharing a photo of Prince Harry cradling Archie at his christening as his dad looks on.
They wrote: "A very Happy Birthday to Archie, who turns one today.
"This photo of Archie and his grandfather was taken following his christening in July 2019."
And the Royal Family Twitter account also shared a message to the littlest royal.
They wrote: "Happy Birthday to Archie Mountbatten-Windsor who is celebrating his 1st birthday today!
"Archie is The Queen’s eighth great-grandchild."
And Archie and his parents Meghan and Harry are also expected to call the Queen for the one-year-old's birthday.
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It will be a relatively quiet day for the family in California, having moved to LA just before America went into lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus.
The couple have made Los Angeles their home and they and other residents of California have been living under a "stay-at-home" order made by the state's governor Gavin Newsom.
And royal write Katie Nicholl said Archie was likely to chat with his cousins George, Charlotte and Louis online.
Speaking to she said: “The Queen will wish him happy birthday this week via Zoom as will the Cambridge children.
“They haven’t seen their little cousin in months so they’ve been looking forward to seeing how much he’s grown.”
America is where Meghan and Harry plan to bring up their son after walking away from the royal family in order to become financially independent, after their hopes of earning money while still supporting the Queen were ruled out.
The young royal has experienced an eventful 12 months since he was born at London's Portland Hospital - first living in a cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle, then an exclusive home on Vancouver Island in Canada and now in the sprawling metropolis known as the City of Angels.
Archie was born on May 6 2019 at 5.26am, weighing 7lb 3oz, and a few days after his birth his parents proudly showed him to the world, before the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh saw the infant for the first time.
Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker, was pictured at the royal gathering and she has been a constant presence in the Sussexes lives, and lives in Los Angeles where Meghan grew up and went to school.
He received his greatest exposure when the Sussexes took their son on his first royal tour, visiting South Africa last autumn when he was four months old.
The royal baby received a welcome kiss from Archbishop Desmond Tutu when Harry and Meghan introduced him to one of the heroes of the anti-Apartheid movement.
Archie made an impression with the Archbishop's daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe, who joked the young royal favoured "ladies better" when she caught him glancing in her direction and Meghan declared "he likes to flirt".
Earlier in 2019 Archie was photographed in his mother's arms while his father took part in a charity polo match.
Meghan and Harry are the subject of a highly anticipated book, due for publication in August, which its authors have said they want to be a "definitive story" about the couple.
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And in another development in their lives, the duchess lost the first High Court skirmish in her claim against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday over publication of a "private and confidential" letter to her estranged father.
Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers over five articles, two in the Mail on Sunday and three on MailOnline, which were published in February 2019 and reproduced parts of a handwritten letter she sent to Thomas Markle, 75, in August 2018.
In a ruling last Friday, Mr Justice Warby struck out parts of Meghan's claim against the publisher, including allegations that it acted "dishonestly" by leaving out certain passages of the letter, following an application by Associated Newspapers.
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Ellen DeGeneres talks about meeting baby Archie when Meghan Markle and Prince Harry played host in London
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