Prince Harry chose a very special gift in honour of Prince Louis’s christening – and it was inspired by his own childhood memories with his late mother, Princess Diana
Prior to his estrangement from the royal family, Prince Harry delighted in being an uncle to Prince William and Princess Kate’s three young children. The royal couple welcomed their first child Prince George in July 2013, followed by sister Princess Charlotte in May 2015. Their family was complete when Prince Louis was born in April 2018.
Writing in Spare about George’s birth, Harry said: “I was an uncle. Willy and Kate had welcomed their first child, George, and he was beautiful. I couldn’t wait to teach him about rugby and Rorke’s Drift, flying and corridor cricket — and maybe give him a few pointers about how to survive life in the fishbowl.”
Similarly, Harry said he was “thrilled to bits” by the news of Charlotte’s birth, stating that he “couldn’t be happier for Willy and Kate”. And he was equally smitten with little Prince Louis.
The Sun previously reported that for Prince Louis’s christening, Harry gifted the youngest Wales child a first edition of A.A Milne’s classic Winnie-The-Pooh – a gesture that apparently set him back £8,000.
“One of Harry’s happiest childhood memories was being read a bedtime story by his mother,” an insider told the newspaper. “She loved all the old classics and Harry had the brilliant idea of starting a little library of first editions for Louis, Charlotte, and George to enjoy as they get older.”
Prior to Louis’s arrival, Harry told the Mirror that he wanted George and Charlotte to share in a very specific part of his upbringing. “I would definitely encourage George, and Charlotte if she wants to, to have some sort of involvement in the Armed Forces, guaranteed. It’s done no harm, just good, for me, and I know it’s the same for William,” he said.
“As an uncle, you know, I would say enjoy the [royal] role, because at first it’s just pressure, pressure, pressure. If you’re going to be doing it and you’re having an effect on so many people then, if you smile, they’re smiling – and what’s the point of doing such a unique job without enjoying it?”
Of course, Harry is now a father himself – he and his wife Meghan Markle welcomed son Archie in May 2019 and daughter Lilibet in June 2021. But the family, who live together in Montecito, California, now have very little contact with their royal relatives.
Harry and Meghan are now all but estranged from his family having levelled a number of accusations at the Firm. As such, a huge gulf has developed, and the Sussexes are said to have been ‘cut off’ by prominent royals, including Prince William. Archie, six, and Lilibet, three, have not visited the UK since 2022, with the youngest of the two Sussex children having only met King Charles once.
As royal expert Jennie Bond previously noted: “At the moment, the children don’t know any difference, but as they grow up Harry and Meghan will have some delicate manoeuvring to negotiate to explain the situation. It must be something that troubles Harry as a dad.”
Jennie continued: “Imagine Archie, aged 15, telling his friends, ‘My grandpa is/was King! And my uncle is/will be King too.’ But he hardly knew or met them. How sad… and Meghan would have to bear the brunt of the responsibility for that.”