Archie Mountbatten-Windsor is an adorable little tot, and in the photos that have so far been made available to the public, some royal fans have claimed that the little guy bears a striking resemblance to his dad, Prince Harry — as a baby, that is.
Ever since Archie was born in the spring of 2019, his parents, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been careful about keeping him away from the public eye as much as possible. While new mothers in Buckingham Palace generally give the public a glimpse of a newborn royal at the Lindo Wing steps at St. Mary’s Hospital the day they are born, Archie’s parents went against royal protocol and did not invite the press for a photo op.
However, the doting parents did give the public the tiniest of glimpses of the royal tot a few days following his birth in an intimate photo shoot at Windsor Castle‘s St. Georges Hall. After that, only a few photos from his christening and one uploaded by his mother on the now-inactive Sussex Instagram account were publicly available. It would be another four months before eager royal fans got to see Archie’s full face. While photos of Archie are not easy to come by, he was featured in a trailer for Harry’s docu-series on Apple TV+. The video footage of him and Meghan were a private glimpse into the family’s Montecito, California life.
Read on to learn more about the similarities between Archie and Harry’s baby photos, as the family resemblance is too strong to ignore.
Diana, Princess of Wales, Harry, William, Prince Charles (1985), (Jayne Fincher/Princess Diana Archive/Getty Images)
In September 2019, during Meghan and Harry’s last royal tour, Archie made his debut royal engagement in South Africa when he and his parents met Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter, Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe. With Archie smiling and being mischievous for the cameras, it’s safe to say the little guy stole the show! The group sat down for tea and some chatting and smiles, as Tutu-Gxashe described adorable Archie as a “ladies’ man,” per The Telegraph. Meghan said her son was an “old soul,” and Harry noted that he was already used to the cameras.
At only 4 months old, it was already clear that the little tot bore a striking resemblance to his famous father. Dressed in blue-and-white striped overalls, a long-sleeved white shirt and socks, Archie sat in Meghan’s lap as his parents discussed the Archbishop and his wife’s organization, The Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation.
A few months later, the Sussexes took to their Instagram account to post a video looking back at 2019 for the family, which featured a close shot of Archie being held by his dad in Canada. The two were pictured in front of a lake, bundled up in warm winter clothes as the doting dad smiled at baby Archie, who was sporting an adorable double pom-pom gray beanie.
The facial similarities to his dad Harry were evident, notably Archie’s cheeks, face shape and hair. One particular photo in which Archie’s strong resemblance to his father was clear to see was from Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s royal tour of Italy in 1985.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (2019), (Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage)
In the photo, baby Harry, only 8 months old, had the same little face as his son as a baby. But the family similarities aren’t only from Harry’s side — Meghan also has an influence, notably her eyes and nose. In fact, mere days after Archie’s birth last year, his parents said that after being asked which one of them Archie takes after more, they were “still trying to figure that out,” according to Harper’s Bazaar.
In the same interview, Harry added that “his looks are changing every single day, so who knows.” Clearly, both parents have an influence, but it’s Harry who really shines through in these photos.
It soon became clear to royal watchers that Archie and Harry’s similarities continued, most obviously, with hints of red in Archie’s hair. According to a People Magazine article from August 2019, a source had already predicted this, as they spoke of Archie’s “tufts of reddish hair” even back then.
While striking, red hair is not particularly common, with only 1% to 2% of humans having naturally red hair. It appears more frequently in people with Northern or Northwestern European ancestry, with 2% to 6% of them natural redheads, while it’s even less common in other populations. The feature is most often due to a recessive allele on chromosome 16 in human DNA, which means that Meghan must have also had the recessive gene for Archie to be a redhead like his father.
Since Meghan and Harry stepped down as senior royals in early 2020, the family hasn’t shared many new photos of little Archie. He did, however, appear in a video to mark his first birthday, in which his mother read him a book titled “Duck! Rabbit!,” while his dad recorded the clip.
Princess Diana, Prince Harry (1985), (Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images)
Later, in November 2021, Meghan opened up about her life during an interview with Ellen Degeneres. She also shared a never-before-seen photo of her then-2-year-old son tending to the family’s chickens. The picture showed Archie holding a basket — likely to collect eggs — as he looked down at his family’s flock of chickens.
With his fiery red hair, the tiny tot looked incredibly similar to Harry! However, the young boy seemed to have a style of his own. In the photo, Archie was sporting some adorable yellow Wellington boots that featured Peppa Pig, jeans and a blue sweater.
And in January 2022, The Mirror reported that Archie would be visiting a nursery school in Montecito. The school offers more than the traditional kinds of teachings, although they are still represented. While the school provides subjects like reading, writing and numbers, it also focuses on teaching “emotional literacy” and mindfulness, reflecting an emphasis on mental health and social skills.
The Mirror spoke with a parent of one of the other children visiting the nursery. Unsurprisingly, little Archie seems to garner a lot less attention than he would get if he were to attend an English nursery school:
“Harry often drops Archie off and picks him up, and seems like a good dad. All the parents have been laid back in welcoming Harry and Meghan, without making a fuss. And to the other kids, Archie is just one of them. They don’t know his parents are royalty, and probably wouldn’t care — unless Meghan was a Disney princess.”
Young Archie is certainly growing up to look a lot like his father and is receiving plenty of love from his parents and royal fans along the way!
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor (2019), (Toby Melville/Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage/GettyImages)What are your thoughts on the family resemblance between Harry and Archie? Do you see any similarities to his mom as well? Let us know your thoughts, and make sure you pass this story on to any royal fans you know!