Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Cancel Archie's First Birthday Party

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had to cancel their plans for their first Hollywood soiree after moving to Los Angeles last month. The reason for the big bash was a special one, too—Archie's first birthday! Though they Sussex family was planning on celebrating Archie's birthday with a "welcome to L.A. party," according to the Daily Mail, they've been forced to cancel the get together because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"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," a source explained to the Daily Mail. "It's a shame because Archie's birthday, without the lockdown, offered the perfect opportunity to host a welcome to LA bash for them and their friends."

Meghan and Harry were reportedly planning to invite a ton of their celebrity friends to the party, as well, including "James Corden, Ellen DeGeneres, Oprah Winfrey, Idris Alba, Tom Hardy, Serena Williams, Elton John and George and Amal Clooney." While it's definitely a bummer that this star-studded birthday party isn't happening anymore, the source added that "their close knit friend group will have plenty of other opportunities moving forward to come together. There are other events lined up throughout the rest of the year."

Despite the hardships associated with the COVID-19 shutdowns, Prince Harry recently opened up about the silver lining he's currently experiencing by being stuck at home—more family time with Meghan and Archie. On a video call with his former royal patronage WellChild, the Duke of Sussex said said he's been thoroughly enjoying the extra time he's gotten to spend with Archie. "There’s a hell of a lot of positives that are happening at the same time and being able to have family time—so much family time—that you almost think, 'Do I feel guilty for having so much family time?'" he said on the call. "You’ve got to celebrate those moments where you are just on the floor rolling around in hysterics. Inevitably, half an hour later, maybe a day later, there’s going to be something that you have to deal with and there’s no way you can run away from it."

"It’s all about morale," Harry continued "If morale is up, if you wake up in the morning and go, 'Right, new day, got my whole family here, what are we going to do?' Of course, there’s that fear of what might happen, but there’s so much that’s out of our control and all of the sudden we’ve realized how small we are in the grand scheme of things."

Harry also shared how impressed he was by "super-parents" caring for multiple children during this unprecedented crisis. "The resilience and the strength that you guys have is absolutely incredible," he said. "You must never, ever, ever, ever forget that. Of course, there are going to be hard days—I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it is for you guys. Having one kid at 11 months old is enough!"

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