Meghan, Duchess of Sussex has posted a skiing clip of her husband Prince Harry and her son, Prince Archie. Just a dad and his boy coursing down a snowy slope. And it feels like a tiny window into a life that’s become very ordinary in all the very best ways. No palace balcony, no press pack, no stiff upper lip. Just a proud mum filming her two favourite people doing something fun.
Since leaving the UK, the Sussexes have built a life that looks nothing like the royal one Harry grew up in. It’s quieter, softer, and much more private. Archie learning to ski isn’t a photo‑op arranged by courtiers; it’s a family moment Meghan chose to share because she wanted to … not because she had to. The clip shows Archie following Harry down the slope, copying his moves, and looking very confident and accomplished, actually. Filmed from behind, so we only see the little boy and his dad from behind, it’s the sort of thing many parents would post, showing their pride in their kids. Except Harry and Meghan know exactly what it means to show the world their children on their own terms.
A lot of commentary about the Sussexes’ children falls outside the realms of sanity - you know, normal responses like “aw, cute”. Some people believe the Sussexes are too private and, even though Harry and Meghan are private citizens who don’t take money from the British taxpayer, think the public has a right to see photos of Archie and his sister, Princess Lilibet pretty much on demand. But there are those who believe the children are AI (I kid you not) and some that push the racist conspiracy that Meghan isn’t their birth mother. Happily, most of the world is still (just about) rational and simply enjoys these clips as and when they appear.
What rarely gets discussed is that Harry and Meghan are doing something almost unheard of in royal circles. They’re raising their children in normalcy. No photocalls on the palace steps. No rota photographers. No expectation that Archie and Lilibet must perform for the nation. Instead, their childhood is built around school runs, toy‑shop trips, and quality family time. It’s domestic, it’s gentle … it’s very, very un‑royal.
Harry has said that fatherhood changed everything for him. He’s spoken about wanting to be present, to be hands‑on, to be the sort of dad who’s actually involved with his kids. In California, he gets to do that. He gets to teach Archie to ski, to celebrate Easter at home, to be the parent he always wanted to be. And Meghan, who has always been open about how much she loves being a mum, gets to build a life where her children come first.
Normalcy is something the royal family never really offered its children. Royal life is built on hierarchy and public performance, and family life comes second. Royal children are assets, useful for shielding the monarch and heirs when needed, as we saw with the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, when a 12 year old Prince Harry was made to walk behind his mother’s coffin in front of the world. Even Prince William, who often claims he is doing things differently, wheeled out his daughter as a shield when he came under fire for not attending the women’s World Cup Final when England played Spain, despite being president of the Football Association. And by “differently” of course, he never meant not making his wife do a press call on the hospital steps shortly after giving birth. Or not parading his kids every Christmas on the royals’ annual walk to church.
Harry and Meghan always prioritised their children, no matter how vilified they were in the press for it. And now, they’ve found a perfect compromise between giving their kids a normal life, and sharing their lives with their fans. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are never made to perform for the press, but clips of them just living their lives, from swimming, to cooking, to playing board games, to choosing Hallowe’en pumpkins, are shared on Meghan’s instagram, their faces obscured.
The skiing clip is a tiny reminder that the Sussexes left the UK to live safely together as a family. A proper one. A family that gets to choose Easter toys in a shop without a security cordon. A family that gets to ski without a press pack. A family that gets to share what they want, when they want, and keep the rest for themselves … like everyone else on Instagram.