Prince Archie's birthday gift of a bike is gender neutral, and will hopefully be passed down to his younger sister Lilibet, business owner Jennifer Blevins has told HELLO!
Made by California-based brand Specialized, the bike is the Rip Rock Coaster 16" Rainbow Flake in Pink and Turquoise. It retails for $249.99 and "is a great little bike and it has little training wheels that can be taken off and it's really cute," shared Jennifer, who co-owns Mad Dogs and Englishmen with British partner Martin Watson.
The bike is ideal for children aged four to six – and the couple hope that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex make the smart decision to eventually hand the bike down to Archie's younger sister Lilibet.
"The little joke was that it's a very gender-neutral color that doesn't feel too masculine or too feminine. It would work for any kid and it's a bright fun color, and so that's why Martin picked it because he's like, 'Oh, his sister can grow into it.," said Jennifer.
"I joked with him and said, 'Or we could just give her her own,' but we're very kind of frugal people ourselves."
Martin and Jennifer have discussed delivering Lili a bike of her own: "I envision giving her the same bike I'm giving away on our little giveaway because it's so beautiful. It has baskets and that is the bike I want for my daughter and so I would totally give Lili that, when she gets a little bigger."
However, Jennifer is unsure if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be happy to receive another gift, telling HELLO! that they have faced unspeakable hate from trolls in the last 48 hours. In fact, Jennifer says she now understands some of what Meghan, 41, and 38-year-old Harry may have faced in recent years.
"Honestly I don't even know if Harry and Meghan would accept another gift. We'll wait and see, but they might be like, 'We're done with you guys.' That would make me sad but at the same time, I hope they would know that all we've ever done is try to be supporters and be positive," said Jennifer.
"If we have overshared or something that's brought any negativity on them… I hope it's brought something positive to them. I only regret [posting the letter] if it brought any pain or negativity to Harry and Meghan. If doing that let them down or disappointed them or made them feel that I was somehow hurting them, then I would regret it. But aside from that, no, because it came from a place of joy. I was so over the moon that they sent me that letter."
Martin made the "spontaneous, joyful" decision to gift the bike to Archie on his fourth birthday, May 6 2023, which was also the day of his grandfather King Charles' coronation.
"We've got British Flags everywhere, all over every store, and [that day] was like British Day, and Martin said, 'I'm taking him a bike,' and I remember laughing. But you've got to understand that he's that person. He grew up in the same town as Ricky Gervais and he has the same humor," revealed Jennifer.
Martin then drove to the royal couple's Montecito home; after security ran a background check, he was then allowed to leave the bike, along with a bouquet of flowers for Meghan.
A month later, Mad Dogs and Englishmen shared a letter they had received from Harry and Meghan thanking them for their "thoughtful gift".
"Of course, we're going to put [the letter] in a frame on the wall. I'm going to make photocopies and put them in a frame in every store," Jennifer told HELLO!, adding: "But I am the business owner, and I was just so excited because I'm huge fans of the entire royal family. I'm not a hater of any of them. I love them all and I love that [Harry and Meghan are] in Montecito where we have a shop so it's just fun."
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