King Charles had envisioned a grand birthday gift for his granddaughter, Lilibet, who turned two earlier this month. His plans were somewhat muted, however, as Prince Harry advised his father to tone down the extravagance of the present, according to a report by OK! Magazine.
Sources familiar with the matter shared that the King had planned to gift Lilibet a custom-made cubby house akin to what the Queen and Princess Margaret had in their childhood. A source elaborated, "Charles wanted to present Lili with a gift that she could cherish and call her own. It was intended to be an unforgettable surprise."
Nonetheless, it remains uncertain whether the King complied with his younger son's guidance or continued with his original, lavish plan for Lilibet, who is seventh in the succession line.
Details surrounding Lilibet's birthday celebration remain undisclosed by Royal insiders. Reports suggest the party was hosted at the £16 million Montecito residence of Harry and Meghan. Interestingly, unlike prior royal birthdays, there was a conspicuous absence of a public birthday greeting for Lilibet from senior royals, including King Charles, on Twitter.
Explaining the break from tradition, a royal source said the family "does not typically celebrate the birthdays of non-working members." While the royal family privately conveyed their wishes, they did not post any public messages on their official channels.
This is a departure from the late Queen Elizabeth II's protocol, who publicly wished Lilibet on her first birthday last June via her official Twitter account.
The reduced public acknowledgments could be reflective of the strained relations between Harry, Meghan, and the royal family following the release of their Netflix docu-series and Harry's revealing memoir, Spare.
Meanwhile, in a separate instance earlier this month, Lilibet's older brother, Prince Archie, was treated to an extraordinary gift on his fourth birthday, which coincided with King Charles' Coronation day. Archie received a new bike with stabilizers, courtesy of a local bike store near the Montecito mansion.
In response to the thoughtful gift, Harry and Meghan expressed their gratitude to the bike shop owners with a sweet note. The note was later shared by the owners of Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop on Instagram, who described it as a "lovely letter".
