The headlines for this story in the British press are along the lines of “Archie to summer with the Queen in Balmoral” and “The Queen will finally see baby Archie this summer.” Like baby Archie Mountbatten-Windsor is going to dash off to the airport by himself and catch a plane so he can spend time with his great-grandmother, the same woman who gleefully punished his parents for daring to walk away when they were smeared and abused. That about sums it up, right? Right. The story originated in the Sunday Times: the Queen apparently extended an invitation to the Sussex family to come to Balmoral this summer. And maybe the Sussexes will go to Scotland, who knows.

His absence from the country of his birth and his wider family is understood to have left the Queen feeling “very sad”. But Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, who turns one in May, will finally return to these shores this summer. It could be his first trip this year, although he may accompany his parents to Britain in June when they attend trooping the colour.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are believed to have accepted the Queen’s invitation to visit her this summer at Balmoral, her Scottish retreat, and are planning to take their son with them. They are also expected to spend time with the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at Birkhall, Charles’s retreat on the Balmoral estate.

It is unclear in what month the Sussexes will visit Balmoral. Archie could join his parents at the trooping of the colour in June as well, the Times reports.

[From The Sun and The Sunday Times]

I don’t doubt that the Queen loosely invited the Sussexes to spend some time at Balmoral this summer. She invites nearly all of her relatives to come to Balmoral – she’s there for two months, sometimes three months, and it’s a “thing” for royal family peeps to schedule a three-to-eight-day window to spend time with Liz. But the Sussexes chose not to go last year, for good reason. Because they saw the lack of support from the Firm and they chose not to play that game, especially given William and Kate’s budget flight stunt AND Andrew’s presence all over Balmoral. What makes us think that this year will be any different? If anything, it would probably be ten times worse this year, post-Sussexit.

I mostly think this story is part of the dawning realization for the British press that they chased out the most interesting royal figures, and so they’re left to dream-theorize about when the Sussexes will come back. Plus, they wanted to continue to bash Meghan and Harry for not bringing their baby back the UK during a huge public health crisis.

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