Meghan Markle’s 42nd Birthday Celebrations w_ Prince Harry
Meghan Markle’s 42nd Birthday Celebrations w_ Prince Harry
Transcript
00:00 Meghan Markle is celebrating a new year of life.
00:03 The Duchess of Sussex turned 42 on Friday,
00:05 and it seems that she kicked off her celebrations early.
00:08 The night before, she and husband Prince Harry
00:10 stepped out for a rare public night out in Montecito.
00:12 The two were spotted dressed up
00:13 outside of an Italian restaurant with a friend,
00:15 as seen in photos published by the Daily Mail.
00:18 While there's no word on how Meghan
00:19 is spending her actual birthday,
00:21 the royal has traditionally marked the occasion
00:22 privately with loved ones,
00:24 and it's more than likely she's enjoying her big day
00:26 with Harry and their beloved kids,
00:28 four-year-old son Prince Archie,
00:29 and two-year-old daughter Princess Lilibet.
00:32 The former "Suit" star has now celebrated six birthdays
00:34 since becoming a member of the royal family,
00:36 and surprisingly, she's not the only royal
00:38 who was born on August 4th.
00:40 The Duchess shares a birthday
00:41 with the late Queen Elizabeth II's mother,
00:43 who was the mother of the late Queen Elizabeth II,
00:45 and was King Charles's grandmother.
00:47 Harry wrote about the special birthday connection
00:49 in his memoir, "Spare,"
00:50 and recalled how it came as a happy surprise to his dad.
00:53 He wrote, "Towards the end of summer 2018,
00:55 "we went to Scotland, the Castle of May,
00:57 "to spend a few days with Pa.
00:59 "The bond between Meg and Pa, always strong,
01:01 "grew even stronger during that weekend.
01:03 "One night, over pre-dinner cocktails,
01:05 "Fred Astaire playing in the background,
01:07 "it emerged that Meg shared a birthday
01:08 "with Pa's favorite person, Gangnam, August 4th.
01:11 "Amazing," Pa said with a smile.
01:14 August 4th is also a date of significance
01:15 for another royal, Prince William.
01:17 On that day in 1982, when he was just weeks old,
01:21 he had his christening ceremony.
01:23 It was a special occasion for the entire royal family,
01:25 including his now-late mom, Princess Diana.
01:28 Meghan's 42nd birthday comes as she and Harry
01:30 enjoy their fourth summer living in California.
01:32 The couple move there in 2020,
01:34 as they step back from their roles
01:35 as senior working members of the royal family.
01:37 Their life in Montecito has given Archie and Lily
01:40 a chance to grow up out of the spotlight.
01:42 A source recently told "People" magazine
01:43 that Meghan and Harry are, quote, "very united
01:45 "when it comes to family values and how to raise their kids,"
01:48 adding that their goal is to allow Archie and Lily to,
01:50 quote, "have a normal life as much as possible."
01:53 Across the pond, Prince William and Kate Middleton
01:55 are also making sure their little ones
01:57 have opportunities to enjoy a near-normal childhood
01:59 and just be kids, while also preparing eldest son,
02:02 Prince George, to become king one day.
02:04 DailyMail.com's Charlie Langston
02:06 recently told "Access Hollywood"
02:07 how the Prince and Princess of Wales
02:09 have been navigating that balance for George.
02:11 - So what is George's life like today?
02:14 What is the balance between normal childhood
02:16 and being the future king?
02:18 - You know, Kate and William have made incredible efforts
02:22 to ensure that George has been able to enjoy
02:24 at least a little bit of normalcy.
02:27 Now, obviously, we've seen George taking part
02:30 in a lot more royal engagements of late,
02:33 and as he gets older, we're going to see him
02:35 taking on an official role more and more frequently.
02:39 But even as all of that is happening,
02:42 George is still able to enjoy the life of a normal boy.
02:46 He was the first ever royal to go to a co-ed school,
02:50 which was a great experience,
02:51 and also meant that he got to attend school
02:54 with his sister Charlotte,
02:55 which I think was a really wonderful thing.
02:57 He's known for being absolutely obsessed with sports.
03:01 He plays rugby.
03:03 He also, believe it or not, plays the electric guitar.
03:06 He's known to have a fondness for Led Zeppelin and AC/DC,
03:11 which I think is not necessarily the kind of music
03:13 you would associate playing inside the walls
03:16 of Windsor Castle, but there you go.
03:18 Just like any other normal boy,
03:20 he's going to have a birthday party thrown in his backyard.
03:24 Granted, his backyard is at Windsor Castle,
03:26 but still, they make every effort that they can
03:30 to give him those experiences that every little boy,
03:33 no matter who they are, deserves to have,
03:36 and I think that great credit needs to be given
03:40 to the Prince and Princess of Wales
03:43 for taking such important steps to make sure
03:47 that George learns what he's supposed to be doing
03:50 as a future king, but also understands
03:53 that he's a young boy who deserves
03:55 to kick back and have fun.
03:57 - How is George's upbringing different
03:59 from William and Harry's?
04:01 - William and Kate, from the get-go,
04:03 made it incredibly clear to all of the royal family
04:07 that they would not allow George to be separated
04:11 from the other half of his family.
04:14 So, unlike Harry and William, who were very much
04:17 kind of encased in this royal sphere,
04:21 George has had the opportunity to dip
04:24 into a more normal life through his grandparents,
04:27 Carol and Michael, and we know that they have been
04:30 a wonderful influence on him,
04:32 because when he's around his grandfather, King Charles,
04:36 when he's around Camilla, his step-grandmother, if you will,
04:40 yes, they are loving grandparents,
04:42 but there is always an air of formality.
04:45 You know, when you're hanging out with grandpa
04:48 and grandma in a castle, it's a little bit difficult
04:52 to truly relax and forget the idea of yourself
04:56 as a future king or the fact that your family is royalty.
04:59 Whereas when he is in the home
05:01 of Carol and Michael Middleton,
05:02 he gets to experience what life is like
05:05 as a much more average member of society,
05:08 and I think that that is incredibly important.
05:11 You know, Carol and Michael were the first family members
05:14 to visit George after he was born.
05:17 They have been an ever-steady presence in his life.
05:21 They've gone on vacations with him.
05:23 Carol accompanied William and Kate on a tour
05:25 when George was just a few months old.
05:28 So I think that that has been a really key element
05:30 of his life that William and Harry
05:33 didn't really get as much.
05:35 Diana's family was not present in their lives
05:38 in the same way that Carol and Michael are,
05:41 and that's partly because King Charles,
05:44 Princess Diana didn't make that same kind of clear-cut,
05:49 you know, demand from the beginning.
05:53 They didn't really lay down the law
05:55 in the same way that Kate and William did,
05:58 and Princess Diana also had a much more fractured
06:02 relationship with Charles than Kate does with William.
06:05 So Kate has been able to be much more honest,
06:07 much more opinionated, and kind of say to William,
06:11 "This is what I want for our children.
06:14 These are the lines that I am not willing to cross."
06:17 And that has meant Christmases away from Sandringham.
06:20 It's meant Christmases at home with Carol and Michael.
06:23 And that's given George just a great opportunity
06:25 to experience life away from royal tradition.
06:29 And I think that that has helped him
06:30 to be a much more balanced young man.
06:32 (upbeat music)
06:35 (upbeat music)
06:38 (upbeat music)
06:41 (upbeat music)
06:44 (upbeat music)