The Duke of Sussex snapped that Prince Archie will not be “growing up like that” when a close family friend suggested he would need to be taught the royal way of life and copy the Queen, said an expert

Prince Harry snapped “he’s not growing up like that” when his son Archie was shown the ‘Queen’s wave’, according to a famous friend.

The Duke of Sussex revealed he didn’t want the youngster to follow in the Queen’s footsteps just months before he and Meghan Markle left the Royal Family in January 2020.

Since settling in California the Sussexes have welcomed a daughter Lilibet, and Harry has regularly criticised the Royal Family in the American media where he has also said that he wanted to bring up his children in a different environment.

The decision to move abroad came as a shock to many royal fans but Harry had in fact hinted that it may have been on the cards during a conversation with anthropologist and conversationist Dr Jane Goodall. She is a long time pal of Harry, and she visited him and Meghan shortly after they welcomed Archie into the world in 2019.

The Duke of Sussex and Dr Jane Goodall are good friends
The Duke of Sussex and Dr Jane Goodall are good friends 
Image:
PA)

Dr Goodall was invited to Frogmore Cottage in the grounds of Windsor Castle to be interviewed by the Duke of Sussex for a special Forces for CHANGE edition of Vogue magazine, which was guest-edited by his wife Meghan.

And arriving at the newly-renovated cottage, which the couple had moved to after tying the knot in 2018, royal author Robert Lacey claimed Dr Goodall was allowed to hold Archie following the interview. “Meghan came into the room as the interview drew to a close. She was holding the newborn Archie tenderly in her arms and she offered the baby to the 85-year-old Goodall,” he wrote in his biography Battle of Brothers.

Dr Goodall recalled the incident in the book, and said she was taken aback by Harry’s blunt response to her joke suggesting Archie needed to be taught the royal way of life. “He was very tiny and very sleepy. I think I was one of the first to cuddle him outside the family. I made Archie do the Queen’s Wave saying, ‘I suppose he’ll have to learn this. Harry’s reaction brooked no doubt, ‘No! He’s not growing up like that,’” she shared.

Just a few months after she met Archie, Harry and Meghan announced they would be stepping down as senior working royals. They’ve been keen to keep their kids out of the limelight, and Archie and Lilibet have yet to attend any public event, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex try to give them a ‘normal’ upbringing away from the Royal Family.

In an interview last year, Harry said he hoped his children have a meaningful relationship with his family, despite his current estrangement. “I’ve said before that I’ve wanted a family, not an institution – so of course, I would love nothing more than for our children to have relationships with members of my family, and they do with some, which brings me great joy,” he told People.