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Harry and Meghan at airport in Tonga, 2018© Getty

Prince Harry talks Prince Archie's first family holiday with famous friend

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's son was born on 6 May 2019

Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
August 15, 2023
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex became parents for the first time with the birth of Prince Archie in May 2019.

When he was just three months old, Prince Harry and Meghan took their baby son on one of his first family holidays, which the Duke shared details about in his memoir, Spare, published in January.

And when they needed to get away from it all in Windsor, Harry and Meghan's friend, superstar singer Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, invited the couple and their young son to join them at their £15m holiday villa perched on the French Riviera.

Harry reveals in his book: "For a few days we sat on their terrace and soaked up their sunshine. We spent long healing moments gazing out at the azure sea, and it felt decadent, not just because of the luxurious setting. Freedom of any kind, in any measure, had come to feel like scandalous luxury. To be out of the fishbowl for even an afternoon felt like day release from prison.

"One afternoon we took a scooter ride with David, around the local bay, down the coastal road. I was driving, Meg was on the back, and she threw out her arms and shouted for joy as we zoomed through little towns, smelt people's dinners from open windows, waved to children playing in their gardens. They all waved back and smiled. They didn't know us."

The Sussexes' stay with Elton took place just weeks before Harry and Meghan took Archie on his first official royal tour to South Africa in September 2019.

The royal tot joined his parents for one public engagement, as the couple met with the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town.

RELATED:  Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's relationship timeline: from their first date to Lilibet Diana

Harry and Meghan with Sir Elton John and David Furnish© Getty
Harry and Meghan with Sir Elton John and David Furnish at The Lion King premiere in July 2019

 In November 2019, Harry and Meghan travelled to Vancouver, Canada for an extended break from royal duties. Following their festive break, the Duke and Duchess announced in January 2020 that they would be stepping back from royal duties.

After carrying out their final public engagements in the UK in March that year, the Sussexes moved to the US and bought their first family home in Montecito.

Prince Archie recently celebrated his fourth birthday© Getty
Archie joined his parents on tour in South Africa in September 2019
Prince Harry carries Lilibet© Netflix
The Sussexes reside in Montecito, California

For the past three years, Harry and Meghan have been carving out their new life in California, and also welcomed daughter, Princess Lilibet, in June 2021.

As well as a deal with Netflix, which saw the release of their docuseries last December, Meghan also landed an award-winning podcast series, Archetypes, with Spotify.

The Duke and Duchess are bringing up their young children, Archie, now four, and two-year-old Lilibet, as private citizens. Although they shared rare insights into their family life in their Netflix series…

WATCH: Archie and Lilibet's cutest moments

Earlier this summer, the family-of-four were seen celebrating the Fourth of July at Montecito's annual parade. Last week, Harry travelled to Japan and Singapore in support of his charity, Sentebale, where he competed in a polo match

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