With the ongoing pandemic across the world, the Buckingham Palace has been forced to make adjustments and alter tradition in celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's birthday.

Normally, royal birthdays are marked by ceremonial gun salutes, but the Queen felt that it was inappropriate so she requested to dismiss this tradition. 

Surprise Birthday Greetings From Harry, Meghan And Baby Archie!

Due to stay-at-home orders and mandatory lockdown, the members of the British royal family chose to celebrate the longest-reigning monarch's special day virtually. 

After their recent move to Los Angeles, California, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a birthday surprise for Queen Elizabeth II, who is spending the quarantine period at her residence in Windsor Castle together with her husband Prince Philip. 

Joined by their almost one-year-old son Archie Harrison, the couple had a video call with the Queen to greet her on her 94th birthday, as confirmed by Harper's Bazaar

The 35-year-old Duke is Queen Elizabeth II's grandson, and this makes baby Archie one of her eight great-grandchildren and seventh in line for the throne. 

Three of her great-grandkids are from Prince William and Kate: Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Meanwhile, the other four are from Princess Anne's grandchildren: Savannah and Isla (whose parents are Autumn and Peter Phillip) and Mia and Lena (whose parents are Mike and Zara Tindall).

Baby Archie And Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Philip and the Queen first met Archie when he was just two days old. They are said to be the first members of the royal family to meet Prince Harry's only son following his birth in May 2019. 

It was previously reported that the Duke of Edinburgh and the 94-year-old monarch failed to attend Archie's christening due to the Queen's prior commitment at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England. 

Moreover, when Meghan and Harry announced that they were stepping down as senior members of the royal family, this left the Queen "very sad" and feared that she would "barely see" Archie after "Megxit."

"She will be very sad to have barely seen Archie, and that he will miss out on growing up with his cousins and wider family," a royal source told The Sunday Times.

Even his cousins, George, Louis and Charlotte only saw Archie twice since his birth. 

The Sussexes Return To Britain Minus Baby Archie

When Meghan and Harry returned to the U.K. for their final round of royal engagements, it was reported that the couple left the baby Sussex in Canada for two reasons: first is due to security issue and second is due to the coronavirus crisis

According to royal sources, the Queen was "'heartbroken" and "disappointed" at the thought of not seeing baby Archie. 

"The news will be disappointing for the queen and the royal family, who are understood to be 'very sad' that they have seen so little of Archie since his birth," an insider told The Times.

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