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A meeting with the queen. Prince Harry’s “final visit” with Queen Elizabeth II included his and Meghan Markle’s kids Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. According to the Duke of Sussex, the late monarch found one thing surprising about her great-grandchildren’s behavior. 

Archie and Lilibet are thought to have visited Queen Elizabeth in June 2022 with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Queen Elizabeth II, who called Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet the 'sweetest children,' according to Prince Harry's 'Spare,' looks on wearing a pink suit.
Queen Elizabeth II | Paul Grover/Pool/ Getty Images

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex traveled to London, England, for Platinum Jubilee Weekend, marking Queen Elizabeth’s 70 years on the throne. With them for the June 2022 trip were their children, now 4-year-old Archie and 2-year-old Lili. 

Between Trooping the Colour, Lili’s birthday, and a church service in the monarch’s honor, Harry and Meghan are believed to have visited with Queen Elizabeth. Reports at the time claimed the couple introduced their daughter to the queen in person after the two met during a video call following Lili’s birth on June 4, 2021. 

While the location of the visit wasn’t revealed, at the time, the family of four was staying at Harry and Meghan’s former U.K. residence of Frogmore Cottage, just a short drive from Windsor Castle. 

During the same June 2022 trip, Lili met another one of her royal relatives in person for the first time. She met her grandfather, King Charles III, in what a source described as a “very emotional” and “wonderful” visit. 

The queen called Archie and Lili the ‘sweetest’ on Harry’s ‘final visit’ with his grandmother

Queen Elizabeth II, who had two words to describe Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, stands with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

In his January 2023 Spare memoir, Harry recalled the last time he saw Queen Elizabeth. Following her death in September 2022, the duke shared, he “couldn’t stop picturing” Archie and Lili “with Granny.” Memories of times together flashed through his mind, including their “final visit.” 

Harry described how Archie and Lili behaved around their great-grandmother at the time. Archie, now 4, he recalled, made “deep, chivalrous bows.” As for “baby” Lili, who celebrated her first birthday during Platinum Jubilee Weekend, she sat “cuddling at the monarch’s shins.” 

While Queen Elizabeth was already familiar with Archie, what with his May 2019 birth occurring when Harry and Meghan were still working royals living in England, the monarch hadn’t yet met Lili in person. That is, until June 2022. 

Harry continued, recalling how the queen reacted to Archie and Lili: “Sweetest children, Granny said, sounding bemused. She’d expected them to be a bit more … American, I think? Meaning, in her mind, more rambunctious.” 

Harry referenced the Archie and Lili introduction in a tribute to Queen Elizabeth

In a tribute to “Granny” following the queen’s death on Sept. 8, 2022, at the age of 96, Harry recalled introducing his two kids to his grandmother. 

“Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” Harry said. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between.” 

Elsewhere in Spare Harry divulged what the queen said about her oldest son, King Charles, in January 2020 as well as his last phone conversation with the queen before she died. 

Sept. 8, 2023, marked the one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s death. 

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