Prince Harry and Meghan Markel are celebrating the holidays by giving royal watchers a glimpse at their life as parents of two! The royal couple on Thursday shared a brand new family photo, with their 2021 Christmas card also serving as the first photo of their 6-month-old daughter Lilibet, who was all smiles and giggles as she posed with her mom, dad, and big brother, 2-year-old Archie.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex release the holiday card on Thursday through Team Rubicon, a veteran-led organization with which the couple has supported in the past. Bordered by red and with the words “2021 Happy Holidays” written on it, the card features an adorable image of the newly-minted family of four. In the picture, little Archie, whom Harry and Markle welcomed back in 2019, sits on his father’s lap, the toddler sporting a full head of red hair just like his dad! The youngster and Harry are both looking over at Markle, who can be seen holding up daughter Lilibet, whose image had not been shared publicly prior to the Christmas card. The image was snapped by photographer Alexi Lubomirski this summer at the couple’s home in Santa Barbara, California, according to PEOPLE. Lubomirski previously photographed the couple on their wedding day.
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“This year, 2021, we welcomed our daughter, Lilibet, to the world. Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa’, and Lili made us a family,” the couple shared in an accompanying message at the bottom of the card, which was shared in full on Team Rubicon’s website. “As we look forward to 2022, we have made donations on your behalf to several organizations that honor and protect families – from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave.”
According to a statement from a spokesperson for the couple, Harry and Markle “had the opportunity to connect with Team Rubicon earlier this year during their visit to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.” The couple were “moved by Task Force Liberty, home to 10,000 Afghan refugees, and their donation will support resettlement sites like TF Liberty across the country, particularly as they find permanent homes for Afghan refugees in 2022.” In addition to focusing on Afghan resettlement, the Sussexes are also “making contributions to organizations supporting families through paid leave, something The Duchess of Sussex has previously noted is a humanitarian issue that she believes must be urgently addressed in the United States.”
The Thursday Christmas card comes six months after Harry and Markle welcomed Lilibet into their lives. The youngster, who is among the youngest members of the British royal family, on June 4 at 11:40 a.m. local time at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. The couple named their daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, a name that is packed with meaning and notably pays homage both her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, whose nickname among close family is Lilibet, as well as her late grandmother Princess Diana.
