Duchess of Sussex marks anniversary with unseen images of Archie, Lilibet

The Duchess of Sussex has shared previously unseen images as she marked her seventh wedding anniversary on Instagram.

• The Duchess of Sussex shared unseen images of her children on Instagram for her seventh wedding anniversary.
• The post featured family snapshots, including Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.
• Harry and Meghan’s relationship highlights were included, with images from 2016 to recent years.

The Duchess of Sussex has shared previously unseen images of her children as she marked her seventh wedding anniversary on Instagram.

Meghan, 43, posted a message on social media thanking those “who have loved and supported us throughout our love story”.

The post featured a noticeboard displaying an array of snapshots of Meghan with the Duke of Sussex from their private family album, including several of Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 3.

“Seven years of marriage. A lifetime of stories,” the duchess wrote.

“Thanks to all of you (whether by our side, or from afar) who have loved and supported us throughout our love story – we appreciate you. Happy anniversary!”

The mood board, titled “Our love story”, includes a photograph of Archie clutching his younger sister’s arms as he tenderly kisses her head in front of a Christmas tree. Another shows Harry and Meghan painting with their children in the garden and another depicts the foursome on a beach.

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A post shared by Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (@meghan)

The post, said by a source to “capture a celebratory moment”, featured an array of highlights from each year Harry and Meghan have been together.

The earliest images were taken during private holidays, among them trips to London and Botswana, in 2016, before their relationship was publicly known, and previously unreleased images from their official engagement shoot in 2017.

A previously unseen photograph taken on the day Harry proposed to Meghan is also included, as is a picture of their trip to Norway to see the Northern Lights early in 2017.

Photographs from 2018 include a wedding portrait by Alexi Lubomirski and a sketch of the duchess’ coat of arms for their joint coat of arms.

Meghan also wrote out the lyrics to Stand by Me by Ben E King, which was played at their wedding.

An image from the couple’s 2019 Australia tour, when they announced Meghan was pregnant with Archie, includes a hongi (a traditional Māori greeting) between the couple in New Zealand, a sonogram, a pregnancy portrait and an intimate image of Harry with Prince Archie, taken within an hour of his birth, were chosen to capture 2019.

The Duchess of Sussex's board included photos of the family painting together and Archie kissing sister Lilibet's head.

Meghan also posted before and after shots of one of their final official engagements, the Mountbatten Festival of Music at the Royal Albert Hall on March 8, 2020.

The couple posed in casual clothes before dressing up for the concert.

Since moving to the US, Harry and Meghan have fiercely guarded their children’s privacy. But the duchess has increasingly posted photographs of them on her Instagram feed, often with their faces obscured.

The post comes a fortnight after the duke lost his appeal against the British government over security.

In a lengthy BBC interview given after the ruling was handed down, he revealed that his father, the King, would not take his calls and insisted the monarch had the power to authorise the state-funded police protection he wanted.

In April, the duke and duchess called for stronger protections for children online after unveiling a memorial in New York City to young people who lost their lives because of the harmful effects of social media.

Harry and Meghan joined a vigil and met families who believe social media played a part in the deaths of their youngsters.

The duke told the BBC that “life is better off social media” and said “enough is not being done”, adding that he was “grateful” Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were still too young to be online.

Harry and Meghan married at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle in 2018 and appeared to be the modern, multicultural face of the British monarchy, but ultimately decided to leave the institution and escape press intrusion.

The duke remains estranged from both his father, the King, and his brother, the Prince of Wales, insisting in a recent BBC interview that he wanted to reconcile.