King Charles Reportedly Paid Tribute to Archie's Birthday in Private After Harry Left on Coronation Day

King Charles’ coronation fell on his grandson Archie’s fourth birthday, a date choice that contributed to his son Prince Harry’s leaving England as soon as Charles’ coronation ceremony ended, and Harry’s wife Meghan Markle not traveling there at all so she could celebrate their oldest son’s big day with him instead.

But while Archie was in California with his mom, friends, and family, Charles did take a moment to acknowledge that he wasn’t the only royal fêting something special on Saturday. Entertainment Tonight and The Daily Mail reported that during a private family lunch following the coronation ceremony, Charles toasted to “those that weren’t there,” and specifically wished Archie a happy birthday “wherever he was.” (Which was Montecito, CA, where Archie lives with his parents Harry and Meghan.)

“It was apparently a very sweet moment,” a source told the Mail.

Harry didn’t attend the lunch but was invited. Entertainment Tonight reported that Harry “left as soon as the service [Charles’ Westminster Abbey coronation service] was over.”

It is unknown whether Charles privately called Archie for his big day or sent well wishes personally in some other, more direct way.

Charles’ relationship with Harry is warmer than Harry’s with William, though. Royal reporter Omid Scobie discussed their dynamic on ITV’s This Morning this past Wednesday.

“Obviously, this is the first time he sees his family face-to-face since the release of Spare [Harry’s memoir], but I don’t think people know that there has been somewhat regular […] conversation between him and his father since the release of that book,” Scobie said. “Now, have they discussed the details and the points that he wanted to go into? From what I hear, no. But he has had contact with his dad and, of course, there have been some negative moments with the loss of Frogmore Cottage. They lose the keys to that any week now at this point, and of course he would’ve spoken to his father about that, but also discussed his attendance at the coronation with his dad and made it clear that he wanted to be part of it, and I think that was really well received as well. So it’s interesting to now compare that to where William and Harry are, which is still in the exact same place that we last saw them. There has been minimal contact since the Queen’s funeral.”

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.