Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s 10-month-old daughter Lilibet has taken her first steps.
On 19 April, the Duke of Sussex revealed in an interview for People’s latest cover story that his youngest child, nicknamed “Lili,” is already walking.
“Her current priorities are trying to keep up with her brother; she took her first step just a few days ago!” Prince Harry said. “Proud papa, here.”
The couple are parents to son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor – who turns three years old on 6 May – and daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor 0 born on 4 June 2021. Lilibet was named in honour of her late grandmother, the Princess of Wales, and her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The duke is currently in The Hague, Netherlands for this year’s Invictus Games, which Prince Harry founded in 2014. He was joined by the duchess, who has since returned home to California after spending the weekend with her husband. Before attending the Games, the couple made a secret trip to the UK where they visited the 95-year-old monarch at Windsor Castle.
Prince Harry is expected to reveal new details of the surprise visit with the Queen and his life with Meghan in a new interview withToday Show host, Hoda Kotb. The sit-down interview from The Hague comes just one year after the couple’s TV special with Oprah Winfrey.
Absent from the trip were the couple’s two young children. However, Prince Harry said he is wasting no time in introducing the Invictus Games to his son.
“I showed Archie a video of wheelchair basketball and rugby from the Invictus Games in Sydney, and he absolutely loved it,” Harry said.
“I showed him how some were missing legs and explained that some had invisible injuries, too,” he continued. “Not because he asked, but because I wanted to tell him. Kids understand so much, and to see it through his eyes was amazing because it’s so unfiltered and honest.”
The royal couple’s visit to the UK marked the first time that Meghan and Harry have been in Europe together since stepping down from their roles as senior royals in March 2020.
Harry and Meghan did not bring Lilibet to meet the Queen amid the duke’s case against the Home Office over police protection in the UK. The High Court was told that Harry wants to bring his children to the UK, but “does not feel safe” when visiting under current security arrangements.
However, Archie and Lili were still on their parents’ minds during the Games, including when Prince Harry revealed his son’s career aspirations inspired by his favourite show, The Octonauts.
While giving his opening ceremony address, Prince Harry said that the couple’s eldest child is currently switching between wanting to be an astronaut or a pilot. However, Harry said that his son is also influenced by the children’s TV show The Octonauts, with the duke adding that some days Archie wants to be “Kwazii from Octonauts”.
“If you’re laughing, then you’ve seen it,” Prince Harry said to the audience.
The Duchess of Sussex publicly declared her love for her husband when she introduced him at the opening ceremony, saying she “could not love and respect him more”.
The pair kissed when Harry arrived on stage, and he appeared emotional before his speech, saying: “Thank you, my love.”
Meghan also revealed during a conversation with a Games competitor that she and Harry nearly chose Harrison for their son’s first name, and Meghan told veterans during a children’s book reading that she was missing her son and daughter.
“Being a dad certainly adds another emotional layer to it,” Prince Harry told People about being at this year’s Invictus Games. “When I was in the Army, I promised myself I would be out before having a wife and kids, because I couldn’t imagine the heartache of being apart for so long during deployment, the risk of possibly getting injured, and the reality that my family’s lives could be changed forever if that happened.”
“Every member of the Invictus community has experienced varying degrees of these things,” he added. “I have tremendous respect for what they and their families sacrifice in the name of service.”
The Invictus Games were where Harry and Meghan made their first public appearance at the Toronto Games in 2017.
“There is nowhere you can feel more embraced and supported than with the Invictus family,” Harry said. “The Toronto Games were our first time out and about publicly in an official way. We were dating at the time, so it was a lot to take in, but fortunately, we were with the perfect community for that.
“Now, five years later, here we are in The Hague at the fifth Invictus Games, as parents of two, and living in the U.S,” he said. “I had always wanted to share these incredible moments with someone special, and to have Meg by my side means everything.”
Prince Harry’s interview with Hoda Kotb airs Wednesday on NBC’s Today Show.
