The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly went out to Windsor yesterday afternoon after they and the Duke of Sussex wrapped up the day’s engagements, according to multiple outlets. Their children didn’t join them, though a few articles note that they plan to introduce them to Archie when he’s a little older. The visit apparently lasted over an hour.
According to Katie Nicholl for Vanity Fair, the relationship between the two couples is on the mend now that Harry and Meghan have moved from Nottingham Cottage to Frogmore Cottage. Per the article:
Aides say that relations between the onetime “Fab Four“ have improved in recent weeks. and that both couples want the royal cousins to grow up to be close. “Things have been a lot better since Harry and Meghan moved out of KP, it has given them all some space,” says a source close to the brothers, referring to the couple’s decision to leave Kensington Palace for their house at Windsor Castle earlier this year.
Meanwhile there’s no official word on how long a maternity leave Meghan will take, but the general consensus is that she’ll return to work in October and likely pop up for a handful of big events over the summer. We’re almost certain to see her at Trooping the Colour next month, while it remains to be seen if she’ll turn up for other seasonal anchors like Wimbledon, Ascot or Garter Day.
Harry, meanwhile, has continued carrying out previously schedule engagements, but is expected to take at least a brief paternity leave in the next couple weeks.
Which is just as well because he and Meghan reportedly haven’t hired any staff yet. They’re expected to hire a nanny closer to when Meghan returns to work, but in the meantime they’re without a housekeeper or chef, etc. as they settle into their new home. This isn’t particularly groundbreaking – William and Kate followed a similar template when they were living in Wales, and they also delayed hiring a full-time nanny until Prince George was a couple months old.
There’s also speculation that Harry and Meghan intend to raise Archie as a “private citizen.” I’m not sure that’s really news since that was incredibly apparent by their decision to forgo all courtesy titles for their son, but a few royal reporters continue to be upset a birth certificate hasn’t been released yet (thus allowing them to confirm whether or not Meghan gave birth at home or in a hospital). I think this is much ado about nothing – the couple presented Archie to photographers within 48 hours of his birth, and we’ll likely see him again courtesy of his christening.
As for whether the Sussexes will release official photos of him around milestones such the Cambridges do, I don’t know, but thanks to Cambridges we’ve been through this all before. We saw George very sparingly in the early days, and if you compare access to him with how frequently we’ve seen Prince Louis in the last year, it’s night and day. The Sussexes will figure out their comfort level as time goes in and it’s worth remembering that it’s only been a week(!)