Inside Queen Elizabeth's Relationship With Prince Louis
What's Queen Elizabeth II's relationship with her great-grandchildren really like? It's no secret that the royal family haven't seen much of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son, Archie, since they welcomed him into the world in May 2019. It wasn't long after their first child was born that Harry and Meghan stepped back as senior members of the royal family and moved to North America, with the two making the announcement in January 2020.
Two months later, the coronavirus pandemic took hold and traveling between the U.S. and U.K. become more difficult, while the well-documented tension between Harry and his family likely put a strain on their relationship. In May, a source claimed to Daily Mail that Queen Elizabeth's son, Prince Charles, had only met Archie twice and suggested, "Every member of Harry's family can easily count on one hand the number of times they saw Archie after he was born and before the family left the UK. It's a very sad situation." However, The Mirror claimed the queen has stayed in touch with Archie via Zoom.
But how does that compare with the queen's relationship with Prince William and Kate Middleton's third and youngest child, Prince Louis of Cambridge? Read on for what their relationship is really like.
Queen Elizabeth showed off her fun side on Prince Louis' birthday
Queen Elizabeth revealed her fun side when Prince Louis turned 3 in April 2021. The queen's official Instagram account, @theroyalfamily, shared an adorable photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton's son riding a bike. The youngster wore shorts and a navy sweater and rocked a backpack as he gave a big smile.
In the caption of the snap, the monarch proved she's hip enough to make the most of an emoji as she wrote, "Wishing Prince Louis a very happy third birthday today" with a bicycle symbol. "Taken earlier this week by The Duchess of Cambridge before he left for his first day of nursery, The Duke and Duchess are pleased to share a new image of Prince Louis," the captioned continued, with a balloon emoji.
Royal experts have touched on the sweet connection Louis and his great-grandmother share with their birthdays being around a similar time. "They have that little birthday twinning every year. That's always so fun to mark," "Royally Obsessed" podcast host Rachel Bowie said. The queen celebrates her birthday on April 21, while Louis celebrates his on April 23.
It's not clear if Elizabeth ever actually physically posts her own photos in the way we commoners do, though the queen is known to be a fan of social media and even posted her first tweet in 2014. Her fist ever Instagram post, shared in March 2019, was also written in the first person.
Queen Elizabeth reportedly stepped in for Prince Louis and Princess Charlotte
Queen Elizabeth II is said to have showed her love for Prince Louis and his older sister, Princess Charlotte, before they were even born. She's reported to have stepped in to ensure they would both have titles like their older brother, Prince George of Cambridge, who is third in line to the throne.
According to French magazine Gala (via Express), the reason Louis and Charlotte are allowed to have titles is because a "a few changes" were made by the queen in 2013, prior to the birth of George. Before that, the rules of the royal family stated that only Prince William's first born would have an official title, though Elizabeth decided to ensure things were fair and all of William's future children would be able to use royal titles.
Notably, William's children are the only great-grandchildren of the queen who have the honor. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's son is known as Archie, while their second child will also only be known by their first name — likely until Prince Charles take to the throne. The children of the queen's other grandchildren, including Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will do the same, though it's thought the queen could potentially offer a title as a gift.
Queen Elizabeth skipped Prince Louis' christening
Queen Elizabeth II made a surprise move in July 2018 when it was announced she and her husband, the late Prince Philip, would not be attending Prince Louis' christening. In a statement released by the Press Association, Buckingham Palace confirmed that "the decision was not made on health grounds" and it was "understood to have been mutually agreed by the Queen and the Cambridges some time ago." The absence of the duo meant they were not featured in the professional family portraits taken to commemorate the event.
It didn't appear to ever be officially confirmed exactly why the queen and her late husband skipped such an important family gathering, though People speculated it was because of the monarch's "busy schedule." The outlet noted that the queen, who was 92 at the time, had "just capped off a heavy work week and she has another one in the week ahead," which included a meeting with then President Donald Trump.
Queen Elizabeth gets regular updates on Prince Louis and his siblings from Kate Middleton
It's thought Queen Elizabeth II stays well updated with the lives of her great-grandchildren and regularly hears about what Prince Louis, Princess Charlotte, and Prince George have been up to via their mom, Kate Middleton. It was reported in January 2021 that the monarch and Kate speak regularly as Prince William's wife can supposedly get in touch with Elizabeth whenever she wants.
"Kate has her own direct line to speak to the Queen and she calls her to check in on her and give her updates on the children," royal expert Duncan Larcombe claimed to OK!, suggesting it was Kate who taught the queen how to video call so that she could stay in touch with her, William, and their children during the coronavirus pandemic. "That's been lovely, so she can see her great-grandkids and stay connected," he said.
Kate revealed during a joint interview with William on "BBC Breakfast" in April 2020 that they had "been talking to all of the family online." William joked, "As you can imagine, the younger generation are a little bit more tech-savvier — but only just. I think we're getting there now, the family [is] getting a little bit more used to being able to contact each other and pressing the right buttons and not dropping the computer halfway through."