Princess Lili’s Californian birthday bash! Meghan and Harry ‘held party for close friends and family’ at their £12million Montecito mansion this weekend to celebrate their daughter turning three
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle celebrated their daughter Lilibet’s birthday in California style this weekend, with a birthday party at their Montecito mansion.
People magazine confirmed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, whose daughter Lili turns three today, hosted a “pre-birthday bash” at their £12 million ($14 million) home this weekend.
The party was open to ‘close friends and family’, but the guest list has not been published and it is unclear which members of the Sussexes’ family were in attendance. Femail has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment.
Lilibet’s third birthday comes after her parents shared a rare insight into their daughter’s personality during their 72-hour whirlwind tour of Nigeria in recent weeks.
Princess Lilibet is celebrating her second birthday today, having celebrated her first at Frogmore Cottage last year (pictured) while the family were in Britain for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee.
Meghan, 42, revealed to pupils that dancing was her daughter’s favorite lesson in nursery – ‘probably because of all the jumping around’.
The third birthday party isn’t the first celebration the Sussexes have hosted at their home in Lili’s honor, having also hosted a christening party for her in 2023.
The Duke and Duchess hosted the religious ceremony, which was held by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Reverend John Taylor, in March.
People magazine reported that there were between 20 and 30 guests at the event, including Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and Lilibet’s godfather Tyler Perry.
They were serenaded by a gospel choir, who are believed to have performed Oh Happy Day and This Little Light of Mine – a song played at Meghan and Harry’s wedding.
Meanwhile, an insider revealed that ‘after the ceremony, attendees were treated to an afternoon of food and dancing – with Archie dancing with his little sister!’
A source also told the magazine that Lilibet’s aunt and uncle, the Prince and Princess of Wales, grandfather King Charles and step-grandmother the Queen Consort, were invited to the event but did not attend.
Despite the fact that no senior royals from Harry’s paternal family attended the christening, some of his closest relatives were in attendance, according to reports.
Prince Harry and Meghan with their two children in a Christmas card they released in December 2021
Photos shared by friend of the Sussexes and professional photographer Misan Harriman include a photo of Meghan holding Lilibet as she stands with photographer’s wife Camilla Holmstroem and their two daughters at Lilibet’s first birthday
Lilibet’s seemingly stunning birthday cake, made last year, decorated with peonies, was the same flavor as the one at the Sussexes’ wedding but was topped with strawberry buttercream
Marie Claire reported that Harry’s aunts from his mother’s side, Princess Diana, Lady Jane Fellowes and Lady Sarah McCorquodale, had attended the christening.
Both Harry and William have had a good relationship with their maternal uncle and aunts since the death of Princess Diana in 1997.
Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born on June 4, 2021 in California. Although she has lived there all her life, the toddler celebrated her first birthday in Britain at the Sussexes’ former residence Frogmore Cottage.
The couple held a ‘relaxed’ first birthday party for Lilibet in the garden of the royal residence, which included a birthday cake, balloons, board games and picnic snacks.
Those who were also said to have been at Frogmore Cottage included Zara and Mike Tindall’s three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas, as well as Savannah and Isla, daughters of Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly.
Archie’s godfather, Charlie Van Straubenzee, and his brother Tom, godfather to Princess Charlotte, were also invited, it is understood.
Few details were given about Lilibet’s christening, but it took place at Harry and Meghan’s luxurious, chic home in Santa Barbara, California, which royal fans saw a glimpse of in the couple’s Netflix documentary. In the photo: Meghan with Lilibet as a newborn baby
The gifts apparently included a pastel pink VW Beetle car, £75, from Selfridges, while Sussex supporters donated $100,000 to charity in her honour.
Charles may have bought her a swing similar to the one he bought for Prince George – after an aide to the Sussexes saw it unloaded from their private jet in Santa Barbara.
Photos from the event included a sweet photo of the toddler sitting on the lawn outside Frogmore Cottage, smiling in the sunshine, taken by Misan Harriman.
Another photo from the event showed Meghan wearing Lilibet as they posed with the photographer’s wife, Camilla Holmstroem, a former Goldman Sachs banker turned entrepreneur, and their two daughters, both of whom had their faces painted, a of the activities organized for the guests.
But while Mr Harriman also shared a photo of himself smiling with his eldest child on Instagram and Twitter, no pictures of Harry and Archie were released.
East London baker Claire Ptak – who made the couple’s wedding cake in 2018 – created new treats for the low-key celebration. She later shared a photo of a small peony-covered cake for guests to enjoy.
In another post, Claire revealed a second photo of the three-tiered cake which had her name written on a flag stuck into the dessert.
She revealed it was flavored with lemon and elderflower, the same as the Sussexes’ wedding cake in 2018, but covered in strawberry buttercream especially for the birthday girl.
Royal expert Jennie Bond said OK! Magazine Lilibet’s second birthday could have been a star-studded affair in the US.
She said: ‘I’m expecting some celebrities and a relaxed party, which will hopefully include some other toddlers.
“It would be nice to think that perhaps on this day there will be a video call with Lilibet’s grandfather, King Charles, and hopefully some sort of gift has been arranged to be delivered to Montecito for her birthday.”
In March, the Sussexes confirmed that Princess Lilibet had been baptized in Montecito, California, after reports in People Magazine of an “intimate” gathering at the Sussexes’ country home.
It was also confirmed that King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales were invited to the event but did not attend.