meghan harry lilibet and archie photo together

Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet's little-known five American cousins

Prince Harry and wife Meghan's children have several royal cousins too!

Parenting Editor
April 19, 2023

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are bringing up their children, Prince Archie, three, and Princess Lilibet, one, in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California.

In the British royal family, Harry and Meghan's children have three cousins and seven second cousins: Their first cousins, Prince William and Princess Kate's children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and their second cousins, Princess Eugenie's son August, and Princess Beatrice's daughter Sienna, as well as Zara Tindall's three children and Peter Phillips' two daughters.

Did you know, however, that Archie and Lilibet also have five half-cousins in America, on their mother Meghan's side?

WATCH: Archie and Lilibet's cutest moments

Meghan's father Thomas Markle has five other grandchildren from his previous marriage to Roslyn Markle. Thomas' children and Meghan's half-siblings are Samantha and Thomas Jr.

Samantha's three children, who were brought up and adopted by their grandparents, are Ashleigh, 38 and Christopher Hale, 36, and Noelle Rasmussen, 24. She shares Ashleigh and Christopher with Earl Hale and Noelle with Scott Rasmussen.

Thomas Jr's two children are Tyler Dooley, 30, and Thomas Dooley, 31, who he shared with ex-wife Tracy Dooley.

© Instagram

Meghan at the family's California home with Archie and Lilibet

We know that Meghan has a close relationship with her niece Ashleigh, so it's likely that Archie and Lilibet spend time with her in the US.

Ashleigh, who now works as an Immigration Attorney, made a number of appearances in episode three of Harry & Meghan to discuss the close relationship that she had with Meghan.

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© Photo: Netflix

Meghan Markle and her niece Ashleigh Hale

Although the Duchess stated she had limited contact with Ashleigh's mother, Meghan reached out to Ashleigh in 2007 and the two struck up a "sisterly bond".

"It started out with these long emails back and forth to each other and then texts and calls," she said. "After a while, I think we were talking on some level, several days a week."

In the documentary, she revealed how she and Meghan would go on trips together and enjoy nights out with "way too much food and way too many drinks".

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© Netflix

Harry and Meghan with Archie and Lilibet at Frogmore Cottage

It's unclear whether Archie and Lilibet have met their other four American cousins. It's thought that Meghan spent time with Tyler and Thomas Dooley as a child, reports The Sun.

In 2018, Noelle Rasmussen, spoke of her relationship with her aunt Meghan. She told MailOnline: 'I've always really looked up to her, like a big sister I never had. She took me shopping for kids' books and clothes."

She added: "She taught me how important it was to read books. She's kind, genuine, very thoughtful and warm."

In all, Archie and Lilibet have 15 cousins including their second and half cousins - a huge family for the royal children to get to know as they grow up.

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