Harry and Meghan stun shop owner with ‘thoughtful’ thank you note for Prince Archive birthday gift

Prince Archie received a special surprise on his fourth birthday in May, a thank you note from his parents the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has revealed.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son Archie turned four years old on 6 May, the same day of his grandfather King Charles III’s coronation. In honour of Archie’s birthday, a local bike shop in Harry and Meghan’s hometown of Montecito, California, gifted the couple’s eldest child his very own bicycle.

The owners of Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop in Montecito shared the sweet thank you letter they received from the royals on Instagram. “On behalf of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, please accept their sincere thanks for the thoughtful gift you sent to Prince Archie for his fourth birthday,” read the letter, which was printed on “The Office of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex” letterhead.

“The bike has brought much joy, and is most appreciated by the family. They asked that I convey their gratitude at the lovely surprise,” it said. The note was signed by Harrison Colcord, who works for the duke and duchess.

Speaking to People, bike shop owner Jennifer Blevins explained how her British-born partner Martin wanted to give Archie one of their children’s bikes with training wheels for his fourth birthday. “He went and got some birthday balloons, and he got some flowers for Meghan and a birthday card, and he said: ‘Okay, I’m gonna bike over and take it to their house,’” she recalled to the outlet.

When security outside Harry and Meghan’s home asked whether he had received an invitation from the couple, he replied: “I’m just a British business in town that wanted to give Archie a gift.”

Security allowed him to leave the flowers, card, balloons, and bike for Archie after they performed a background check, according to People. One month later, a courier arrived at their shop in Montecito with the letter from Harry and Meghan.

“I wasn’t expecting that. I had no idea,” Blevins said. “It was so thoughtful because, you know, they took the time to write something personal and not just a generic thank you.”

She added: “Every celebrity in that town has bought bikes from us, and they all come through there. None of them sent a thank you letter.”

Prince Archie’s fourth birthday took place on the same day as King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s coronation in the UK. His father, Prince Harry, attended the coronation at Westminster Abbey on 6 May while Meghan stayed home with the toddler and the couple’s younger daughter, Princess Lilibet.

The birthday celebration was reportedly a “low-key” party at the family’s home in the coastal California town, with the couple’s friends and Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, in attendance.

The newly crowned King also toasted his absent grandson Prince Archie on his fourth birthday at Buckingham Palace after the coronation, the DailyMail reported. King Charles was said to have toasted “those that weren’t there” and wished his grandson a very happy birthday “wherever he was”.

Meanwhile, Meghan and Harry’s daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana turned two years old on 4 June. However, her birthday came and went without public birthday wishes from members of the royal family – which royal experts say reflects the “strained relationship” between King Charles and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.