King Charles Faces Difficulty In Wishing Grandson Prince Archie Happy Birthday

The son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Prince Archie, turned five on May 6. Archie’s grandfather, King Charles III, reportedly felt “uncomfortable” about greeting the young prince via video chat.

Tom Quinn, a royal author, claims that King Charles finds contemporary communication tools unsettling and instead favors more antiquated means like letters. The king is forced to get over his resistance because he wants to stay in touch with his grandchildren, who live in Montecito, California.

“King Charles dislikes new technology,” Quinn told The Mirror. Nonetheless, he is “desperate to keep in touch with his grandchildren on the other side of the Atlantic, so he will certainly call Harry and wish Archie [a] happy birthday.” He elaborates, “If he makes an ordinary telephone call to Harry, it means he can have a quick word with Archie without the need to talk to Meghan, a prospect that fills him with dread.”

For King Charles, May 6 is significant on two fronts: it’s Archie’s birthday and the anniversary of his own coronation in 2023. The day is “bittersweet” for the monarch, who is heartbroken about his strained relationship with his grandchildren, according to royal author Phil Dampier.

The royal writer draws attention to the difference between Prince Charles’s proximity to Archie and Lilibet and his close relationship with Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. “I’m sure he’d love to have the same relationship with his other two. It’s a very difficult situation.”