Prince Harry flew to London over the weekend, and he’ll be there all week, reportedly. Which means the Duchess of Sussex and her children are enjoying themselves in Montecito. Meghan gave a glimpse of her Harry-free weekend on her Instagram Stories on Sunday. She included a photo and video from their visit to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in Palm Desert. Archie got to meet a baby rhino, and Meghan fed lettuce to a giraffe. Meghan also posted a color clip of her backyard dance with Harry, and what looks like a farmer’s market checklist for Lili, which Lili completed.
Meghan also posted a video of Doria in the pool with Lili, enjoying the January sun. That’s the one which will irritate the Keens most of all – another glimpse of the Sussexes’ gorgeous Montecito mansion, with extensive grounds, a pool, a tennis court and old-growth trees. Forest Lodge doesn’t have a pool or a tennis court, although I’m sure Kate will demand that both be added to the property. Still, it’s warm enough to go in the pool in January in Montecito. Meanwhile, William and Kate are so scared of Harry, they’re going to Scotland in the dead of winter this week.
Also: Archie’s dark red hair is so cute. The Spencer red-hair genes are usually more strawberry-blonde or carrot-colored, so how did Archie get this rich auburn shade? I guess Meghan’s brunette genes influenced the ginger genes a little bit.
A beautiful, sunny 😎 day at the pool for the Sussex family. And Princess Lilibet with her vegetables 🥕
🎥Meghan pic.twitter.com/9uWDDTmAUX
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) January 18, 2026
Aww 🥰 Prince Archie at Living Desert Zoo.
🎥Meghan pic.twitter.com/3tx16HqVrl
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) January 18, 2026
Photos courtesy of Meghan’s IG and Backgrid.
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- Whistler, CANADA – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were seen at the One Year to Go Event, a significant milestone leading up to the Invictus Games. These games are an international adaptive multi-sport event, created by Prince Harry, which bring together wounded, injured, or sick armed services personnel and veterans to compete in various sports. The event serves as a celebration of the strength and resilience of these individuals, providing a platform for them to showcase their abilities and inspire others. Pictured: Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 15 FEBRUARY 2024 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
What a lovely day at the zoo and in the pool. Living their very nice life here in the USA. Not a care in the world just living life.
Beautiful family living a beautiful life.
They have such a lovely peaceful life in California. I’m happy for them. Is this how Meghan is preparing her rival court? Dancing in the garden and going to the zoo and farmer’s market? 🫤
That market list was so good ! I kept going back to it. The whole reel was sweet.
You know what just dawned on me? That their life is so joyful and wholesome because there is no subtext. There is no agenda, it is not rife with ulterior motives or staged scenes or image management spin or angles. If spin can have angles. Mixing metaphors. It just is what it is. That is the difference between WanK and the Sussexes. There is one particular phrase in the UK that always kind of tingles, for me, when I hear it, with loaded subtext: “playing happy families,” because in one way you *are* playing, in the sense of being at play, but you are also — always — putting on a show. You become a performer, for your kids, for the public, sometimes for both at once, when you have to play the role of a parent, which is not always as spontaneous or straightforward as it ought to be. But when it becomes a whole performance, without any acknowledgment that there is an audience, who is in on the act, it becomes a matter of Faking It.
Bingo! 🎯
I love this for them. The best decision Harry ever made was to leave the UK.
It sure was the best decision.
Facts…….he won the game
It’s so lovely that Meghan is sharing these little family moments with her fans. The kids are growing up carefree, away from the Windsor drama and jealousy in the UK, and spend precious time with their grandmama.
Carefree, happy moments with the family!
The Living Desert is a zoo with animals from desert regions. It’s also a botanical garden. It’s beautiful, fun and educational A day trip for me, living in Orange County, it’s a 400 mile RT from Montecito. Maybe they spent the night.
another glimpse of the Sussexes’ gorgeous Montecito mansion, with extensive grounds, a pool, a tennis court and old-growth trees.
You left out, “and room for a pony!” lmbao
Yes, Mrs Bucket.
Yes pronounced bouquet lol lol!
I think over time, Prince Archie’s hair will move away from deep red to dark auberge or brown, and Princess Lilebet will remain a sort of reddish blond.
I thought one of Princess Diana’s sisters had a beautiful darker ginger hair like Archie’s when she was younger but I may be mistaken.
You are correct, one of them definitely had auburn hair, really rich colour, plus thick and luxurious.
What are they watching on the screen? Looks like Suits!!
I think they’re watching Meghan’s show, there on the set/house.
Archie’s hair color is similar to his cousin Eugenie’s. Her hair is more of a dark auburn, while her sister Beatrice’s hair is much more red.
Why does it make me tear up a little to see this family so at peace and happy.. They deserve all this joy and contentment forever and ever.
Red hair is recessive. The only way those kids can have red hair at all is if Meghan also has the gene. They’re not just Harry’s redheaded genes influencing the shade of hair.
Meghan is full of freckles, her toxic father and sick half brother are red heads.
Love how this video is a reminder to the rota writers that Harry has a happy home. Cuz u know they’re dying to write about how Harry wants to return to the uk. This vid contradicts anyone trying to say that.
In the color video of the Sussexes dancing, Meghan had to take Harry’s hand off her arse.
Meghan’s little ‘behave’ motion was cute.
I love how the Rota writers are so insistent that Harry wants to return home but Harry literally has to be pried off of his favorite peach. He is NEVER EVER letting her go and he’s learned the meaning of the phrase, “Happy wife, Happy life”.
Of you google Lady Sarah Spencer, Diana’s sister, you can see that in plenty of pictures its Archies exact shade
Kaiser, one of the Spencer aunts actually has (had) the same auburn shade of red that Archie has. I think it’s Sarah, but Jane’s hair has also appeared to be auburn in some photographs. The others are more “carrot-coloured”, like Lili’s. 🙂 Harry’s hair actually went through both shades. Someone posted a photo of Harry with auburn hair online, he would have been about 7 or 8 years old, I think.
I really don’t like the idea of visitors feeding animals. I briefly worked at a zoo and remember dozens of stories of staffers having to stop people from offering food to the animals. They adhere to strict feeding times and should never get accustomed to receiving food from anyone other than trained handlers.
And there are particular zoos or areas of zoos that allow visitors to pet and/or feed select animals.
Yes, they would have correctly stopped visitors randomly feeding their animals (and feeding them goodness knows what), but botanical zoos such as these tend to have educational programmes about animal care and that includes inviting (encouraging?) visitors, especially children, to feed them, but only at set times, so they don’t interrupt the animals’ feeding schedules. In the video of Archie feeding the baby rhino, you can hear the guide in the background explaining to what I presume is a group, and someone asking questions.
As a regular zoo visitor, I agree that you shouldn’t be giving french fries to zoo animals. However, if you look at this zoo’s website, they offer giraffe feeding and rhino encounters as a paid extra.
Since I doubt Meghan brought lettuce into the zoo or Archie would be allowed to feed tree twigs to the rhino while the zoo staffer was telling him details about the rhino. So I would assume that this is encouraged by the zoo, as some zoos do, and items were provided to them to feed the animals. It’s even likely that it was at their feeding time, so it was encouraged.
Meghan really is protecting her peace, and that of her family. And it’s so nice she has Doria nearby.
Poor Harry, though, in dreary and cold Blighty. The contrast is incredible.
Does anyone else think it’s Meghan in the pool with Doria and not Lili? Or are my eyes going? I see black hair and someone at least as tall as Doria. Is this the first time Doria has appeared on Meghan’s new Instagram?
As they say, living well is the best revenge! Clearly life in Montecito is full of love and fun. Love how Archie is leaning slightly away from a potential 3000 pounds!
It is Lili wearing googles, Meghan is slightly taller than her mother.
It’s Lili. She looks as if she’s probably standing on a step in the pool and she’s wearing what looks like a child’s swimsuit with sleeves. Her hair would be darker when it’s wet so I can understand the confusion. I don’t think this is Doria’s first time on her Instagram because she was in a video of her trying Meghan’s Chantilly Lili dessert and of course she has shared photos of her mom for special occasions.