CULTURE

The Royal Baby, Master Archie, Has Begun Accepting Celebrity Visitors

Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra are among the rumored guests to have met the newest addition to the royal family.


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DOMINIC LIPINSKI

Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, son of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, may not be directly in line to be the future king of England, but it’s likely that the life that lies ahead of him will be quite charmed regardless. The lives of Archie’s father and of his first cousins once removed, the Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, have been filled with VIP engagements and celebrity friendships, and that’s all probably waiting for Archie in the future.

Indeed, according to royal gossips and reporters over in the U.K., he’s already gotten a head start on the matter, having already met some of his mother and father’s famous friends despite the fact that he’s not quite one month of age yet.

Apparently, it was Serena Williams who was one of the first VIPs to grace Archie’s presence, which makes sense, considering Williams is close with Markle and attended the royal wedding. She also had to fly across the Atlantic anyway to compete in the French Open. That’s according to the Daily Mail, which claims that Williams did indeed visit the tot with her one-year-old daughter, Olympia, in tow. A photo Williams posted of herself last week in a very regal-looking room may or may not confirm the visit. Unfortunately, however, there is no evidence of a stop in the U.K. on the oft-updated Instagrams of either baby Olympia nor her constant companion and favored doll Qai Qai. We guess we’ll just take the Mail‘s word for it.

More recently, the Sun reports that Priyanka Chopra, possibly with her husband Nick Jonas, by her side, has also met Archie. Chopra attended Markle’s wedding as well (solo, because she hadn’t even begun dating Jonas at the time), and the duo’s friendship date back to Markle’s acting days.

“They thought baby Archie was just adorable and Meg is loving her new life,” says the Sun source. “She looked fantastic and has taken to life as a mum swimmingly.”

Chopra also reportedly came bearing gifts, including a £235 bubble blower from Tiffany & Co. The reports also shut down any rumors that Markle and Chopra were somehow feuding.

And they seem to check out as well, as Chopra was in London earlier this week. She posted on Instagram about attending a Mariah Carey concert in the city four days ago. Though she noted that Jonas wasn’t with her at the time, even though it was their first anniversary (of dating, that is, not marriage).

Archie has also apparently met some of his parents’ other friends in the past week as well, including Markle’s longtime BFF and stylist Jessica Mulroney and Soho House creative director Markus Anderson, another close Markle friend. Direct family members have also come to Archie’s court as well, including Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, Princess Diana’s sisters.

The spree of visits comes as Harry and Meghan are reportedly deciding on Archie’s godparents. As per royal precedent, he’s expected to be baptized sometime this summer (his great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, is the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, after all). Some tabloids have lightly spun the visits as some sort of competition for the titles, but it’s not particularly unusual for a mother to want to introduce her newborn to her closest friends and family.

In any event, there are some VIPs we know little Master Archie won’t be meeting. His mother is on maternity leave, and despite her American citizenship, will not be meeting with President Trump and his family when they visit London next week. Assumedly, Archie will skip those events as well.

But he may have more VIP meetings to look forward to in the near future, as his parents are reportedly thinking about taking him along to a trip to his mother’s hometown of Los Angeles.