Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were to reportedly set to host some celebrity pals at their California home in celebration of their son Archie’s first birthday. The milestone event was rumored to have doubled as a way for the couple to immerse themselves in the California social scene. However, the royals reportedly canceled the event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Archie will celebrate his special day on May 6. The Daily Mail reported that the couple will honor the special milestone alone with their infant, celebrating quietly as a family.
However, if the current world situation was different, it was rumored that the former senior royals would have pulled together a major event by inviting many of their celebrity friends. Per The Daily Mail , the guest list reportedly included James Corden, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Idris Alba, Tom Hardy, Serena Williams, Elton John, and George and Amal Clooney.
Also reportedly making the guest list would have been singer and wife of David Foster, Katharine McPhee, a former schoolmate of Meghan.
“Their close-knit friend group will have plenty of other opportunities moving forward to come together,” a source close to the couple claimed to The Daily Mail . “There are other events lined up throughout the rest of the year.”
“There is no way that Harry and Meghan could or would even consider throwing a party for family and friends. As special as Archie turning one is, now is the time to take safety more seriously than ever. It’s a shame because Archie’s birthday, without the lockdown, offered the perfect opportunity to host a welcome to Los Angeles bash for them and their friends,” the source continued.
Meghan and Harry moved to California late in March just before the United States closed the border with Canada to nonresidents. The couple had spent the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s holidays in Vancouver Island, located on Canada’s southwestern coast in the province of British Columbia.
The Sussexes officially stepped down as senior working royals on March 31. They set up a home base in Los Angeles after initially insisting they would settle in Canada. The Daily Mail claimed the couple will eventually make a more permanent residence in Malibu.
Prince Harry and Meghan performed their last official duties alongside Harry’s father Prince Charles, his brother Prince William, and his wife Kate Middleton on March 9 for the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey.
Shortly after the couple stepped down from many of their royal duties, it was announced that Meghan had provided narration for the Disneynature documentary, Elephant , which began streaming April 3 on Disney Plus.