Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Image: Cameron Spencer, Getty Images)
A former royal butler and ex-employee of King Charles has said he believes Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will send gifts to Prince Louis on his birthday.
Today (April 23) Louis turns eight, a milestone marked by Kensington Palace with the publication of a photograph of the young royal. Prince Harry, 41, has reportedly had limited contact with his nieces and nephews since departing the UK in 2020.
In recent years, particularly in the wake of the King’s cancer diagnosis, there has been conjecture that the Duke of Sussex might rejoin the senior royal fold, however, this has yet to materialise.
More recently, Harry has been visiting the UK with greater frequency, even travelling further afield with trips to Ukraine, including this week.
Discussing how Harry and Meghan, 44, will mark Louis’ birthday, former royal butler Grant Harrold suggested the couple would send gifts to Louis, though potentially not from Meghan’s range of products.
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Prince Louis has recently turned eight (Image: Mirror Picture Desk)
Speaking exclusively to Reach, Grant said: “I also think Harry and Meghan will send presents as well, or possibly vouchers. Hopefully it’s not something from Meghan’s new range, can you imagine?
“But in all seriousness, Harry was so close to his nieces and nephews. Despite everything that’s happened, the issues have never been with the children so I think the Sussexes will reach out on the day.”
Regarding how William and Kate planned to mark their son’s birthday, Grant suggested the couple would host a party inclusive of Louis and his friends, as they are determined to ensure their children enjoy ordinary childhoods.
He explained: “I think William and Kate will throw Louis a party with his friends, just like any other child that age really. They might invite some members of the family as well, but the focus will be the birthday boy having fun with his pals.
Prince Harry (Image: Getty)
“William and Harry always used to have friend parties when they were younger, so I imagine it will be the same for this generation. Kate and William want their children to have a ‘normal’ childhood, and parties are just a part of that.”
While attention is firmly on Louis today, it is equally drawn to Harry, who has travelled to Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, where he urged the world not to forget the country and the conflict it is waging against Russia.
In a statement upon his arrival, Harry told ITV: “It’s good to be back in Ukraine.” He went on to say that he wanted “to remind people back home and around the world what Ukraine is up against and to support the people and partners doing extraordinary work every hour of every day in incredibly tough conditions”.
Harry further remarked that Ukraine was “bravely and successfully defending Europe’s eastern flank”, reinforcing that it “matters that we don’t lose sight of the significance of that”.