Prince Archie’s Adorable Reaction After Accidentally Breaking Queen Elizabeth Christmas Ornament

Mar. 15, 2025

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and Prince Archie in South Africa in 2019.Photo:Getty Images

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and son Archie South Africa 2019

Getty Images

Meghan Markleonce gifted her husbandPrince Harrya small Christmas ornament ofQueen Elizabeth— but, unfortunately, it didn’t last long.

As the Duke of Sussex, 40, recounted in his 2023 memoirSpare, he, Meghan and their sonPrince Archiespent their first Christmas in the United States in 2020. (DaughterPrincess Lilibetwouldn’t be born until June 2021.) That year, Meghan gave Harry “a little Christmas ornament of…the Queen!” he wrote inSpare’s pages.

“I roared,” he wrote. “What the—?”

“Meg had spotted it in a local store and thought I might like it,” Harry continued. “I held it to the light. It was Granny’s face to a T.”

He added that he “hung it on an eye-level branch. It made me happy to see her there. It made Meg and me smile.”

Queen Elizabeth attends The Ceremony of the Keys at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on June 28, 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland.Samir Hussein - Pool/WireImage

Queen Elizabeth II attends The Ceremony of the Keys at The Palace Of Holyroodhouse on June 28, 2021 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The Queen is visiting Scotland for Royal Week between Monday 28th June and Thursday 1st July 2021.

However, Prince Archie — who is now 5 years old but was then just 19 months old — accidentally broke it.

“Archie, playing around the tree, jostled the stand, shook the tree and Granny fell,” Harry wrote. “I heard a smash and turned. Pieces lay all over the floor.”

Prince Archie meets Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on Sept. 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.Samir Hussein/WireImage

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and their baby son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019 in Cape Town, South Africa.

Archie sweetly tried to fix it, as Harry wrote that his son “ran and grabbed a spray bottle. For some reason he thought spraying water on the broken pieces would fix it.”

Humor ensued when Meghan told her son, “No, Archie, no — do not spray Gan-Gan!” Harry then grabbed a dustpan to clean up, he wrote, sweeping up the pieces and remarking to himself, “This is weird.”

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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend Invictus Games Vancouver Whistlers 2025’s One Year To Go Winter Training Camp on February 14, 2024 in Whistler, British Columbia.

Andrew Chin/Getty

The Sussex family of four is expected to spend the holidays in the U.S. again this year, as they haven’t taken part in Christmas at Sandringham with the royal family since 2018, the year Harry and Meghan married and when Meghan was pregnant with Archie.

Speaking toMarie Clairelast month, Meghan, 43, said, “I love the holidays,” adding that“every year it gets better”with Archie, 5, and Lili, 3, as they grow up and understand Christmas more and more.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet in the 2024 Sussex holiday card.Archewell

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Holiday Card

Archewell

“At first, I think as a mom with children you’re just enjoying having them there, but they’re not understanding everything that’s happening yet,” she said. “But now we’re at the age where I just can’t wait to see it through their lens every year.”

“Every single holiday is a new adventure,” she continued, adding that it’s important for her that her kids experience the “magic” of traditions like putting out “carrots for the reindeer” at Christmas.

source: people.com