Queen and Prince William wish Archie a happy second birthday
Watch: Harry and Meghan to celebrate as son Archie turns two
The Queen has led the Royal Family's birthday messages to Archie, as she sent her good wishes to the great-grandson she has not seen in more than 18 months.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor celebrates his second birthday on Thursday 6 May in California, where his parents Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have chosen to settle after leaving their roles as senior royals.
The Queen's team shared a photograph from Archie's first photocall in May 2019, taken in Windsor Castle a few days after he was born.
A message with the photo read: "Wishing Archie Mountbatten-Windsor a very happy 2nd birthday today."
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Last year the Royal Family account chose to mark Archie's birthday with a photograph of the Queen and Prince Philip meeting their great-grandson, who was being held by Meghan.
This year, Prince Charles and Camilla also shared a post for their grandson on their Instagram account, choosing a picture of Charles with Harry and Archie at Archie's christening.
The message read: "Happy birthday to Archie, who turns two today."
Charles's relationship with Harry is understood to be difficult at the moment, after Harry levelled allegations of racism against a senior member of the Royal Family without naming them.
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Prince William had to deny the royals were a racist family in the wake of the interview with Oprah Winfrey that Harry and Meghan did in March.
Despite any tension and unresolved issues, William and his wife Kate used their newly rebranded Instagram to send a message to their nephew too.
The couple chose a picture of the whole family at Archie's christening in 2019, and wrote: "Wishing Archie a very happy 2nd birthday today."
Archie, Harry and Meghan, went to Canada in November 2019 for an extended break after their tour in South Africa.
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Harry and Meghan returned in January 2020, but Meghan went straight back to Archie in Canada, as they announced they wanted to step back.
The couple then moved with their son to California in March 2020, as the border between the countries closed because of coronavirus.
It means the royals have not seen Archie in person since autumn 2019.
Although the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been careful about the number of photographs available of their son, they did share a video of the duchess reading him a story last year, to mark his first birthday.
The video was in support of Save the Children UK.
At Christmas they shared a stylised image of them all outside a playhouse in their garden, through the animal charity Mayhew, of which the duchess is still a patron.
They also shared a black and white video of Archie on the beach in March 2021, during their interview with Winfrey.
Archie does not have a title at the moment, but will be entitled to be called a prince when his grandfather, Prince Charles, becomes king.
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