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Privacy NoticeEven though they left the royal life behind them four years ago, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are busier than ever. This year alone they’ve seen the return of Prince Harry’s Invictus Games, the launch of Meghan’s lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard, and enjoyed a tour of Nigeria – but they’ve got another reason to celebrate as it’s Meghan’s birthday on 4 August. “I think Meghan will be a happy bunny as she reaches her 43rd birthday,” former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond exclusively tells OK! “She has managed to have two children in quick succession, she has a prince for a husband, a royal title without having the bother of a royal life, a mansion for a home, a life in sunny California and a stratospheric level of fame. What is there to grumble about?”
Meghan is celebrating her 43rd birthday
(Image: (Image: Getty))
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With a day which will no doubt be filled with sun and special family moments, what might Meghan get up to with her young family? “It will probably start with an early morning yoga session, then a cuddle with her babies while Harry makes her a delicious and incredibly healthy breakfast,” Jennie predicts. “I expect they will just hang out as a family in the sunshine for the day – and maybe granny Doria will babysit while Harry and Meghan go out for dinner or celebrate with friends.” Despite being rocked by rumours that their relationship is not as strong as we were once led to believe, the couple continue to put on a united front.
The couple pictured in Hollywood recently
(Image: Getty Images for W+P)
“Meghan appears to be very much in love with her husband and I hope they can continue to enjoy a harmonious family life, which Harry has always wanted and which he deserves,” Jennie says. “He has a stunning woman as his wife and one who is proudly ambitious.” Born in Los Angeles in 1981 to Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, Meghan got an early taste of the Hollywood lifestyle when she would visit her dad on the set of Married… With Children where he was working as a lighting director. She later shot to fame herself when she landed the role of Rachel Zane in the hit US legal drama, Suits. Meghan and Harry’s relationship first emerged in 2016, and, after a whirlwind two years, they married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor in May 2018. Shortly afterwards, the couple announced they were expecting and soon welcomed their first child, Prince Archie – but this would soon be followed by an update which rocked the Royal Family to its core.
Meghan played Rachel Zane on Suits
(Image: USA Networks/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
After an extended break in Canada, the pair announced that they were stepping back from their senior royal roles and soon relocated to Montecito, California where they have continued to build their lives and would later complete their family when their daughter, Princess Lilibet, arrived in June 2021. Ever since they walked away from public-facing duties, there have been several seismic rifts on both sides of their family. The fraught relationship between Meghan and her father Thomas, 80, has played out in public – and she hasn’t seen him since before her wedding to Harry. It’s unknown whether this split is still the cause of deep sorrow for Meghan in moments away from the spotlight, but Jennie suggests she isn’t someone who dwells on the past and has her sights sharply trained on the future.
Meghan and her dad were once incredibly close
“I don’t think Meghan is one for looking back, her focus is firmly on her next steps,” Jennie says. “She has said her piece about life with the royals and now she has moved on.” Never one to hold back on his views, Thomas frequently gives interviews on his daughter and recently shared his worries for his grandchildren, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three. “It struck me as very sad that Meghan and Harry’s kids are being denied the right to know their cousins or take part in things like Trooping the Colour, which is their birth right,” Thomas told New Zealand Woman’s Weekly. “They are getting to the age where they will start to ask questions, as all kids do. I find myself wondering how Archie and Lilibet will feel in a few years time when they realise all the things they have missed out on.”
The couple’s children have spent very little time in the UK
(Image: Instagram/Alexi Lubomirski)
This is a concern echoed by Jennie. “Children grow up and are innately curious about their heritage and background – and when your heritage is one of the most famous families in the world, it will seem rather odd and perhaps sad that you hardly know or remember them. “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 as Harry’s made no secret of his wish to introduce his children to both sides of their heritage.” Even though Meghan’s focuses were on mental health, women’s rights, animal welfare and bringing communities together during her time in the royal fold, a life driven purely by charitable work may not be what lies in her future.
The expert says a life of service may not be what lies in Meghan’s future
(Image: (Image: Getty))
Unlike Diana, Princess of Wales – who campaigned vigorously for the abolition of landmines once she left the Royal Family – or Sarah, Duchess of York who continues to use her platform to help others, Jennie thinks that Meghan’s interests are different. “I suspect that Meghan is a commercial woman with philanthropic ideas aplenty… but her driving force is to capitalise on her fame and ensure she and Harry have enough money for all their needs. “I’m not quite convinced that she is totally signed up to a ‘life of service’ so I imagine there will be occasional forays into charity work and makeshift royal tours but I think she is a businesswoman at heart. And, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that!”Story SavedYou can find this story in My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnHarry and MeghanMeghan MarklePrince ArchiePrincess LilibetPrince HarryDoria RaglandRoyal Family
