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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s eldest child, Archie, turned four-years-old in early May, and the family celebrated with an intimate party at their home in Montecito, California. Others were celebrating Archie as well, specifically the owners of Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop, Jennifer Blevins and Martin Watson, who gifted Archie a bike for his birthday. The store is based in Montecito as well, but Watson is British and was clearly excited to have a member of the royal family nearby.
The bike store shared a photo of the thank you letter they received from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Instagram, which read, “On behalf of Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, please accept their sincere thanks for the thoughtful gift you sent to Prince Archie for his fourth birthday. The bike has brought much joy, and is most appreciated by the family. They asked that I convey their gratitude at the lovely surprise.”
Blevins told People that Watson picked out the bike himself and made it into an elaborate gift.
“He went and he got one of our little specialized kids’ bikes — they’re really nice little bikes — and he’s like, ‘This one’s perfect, it’s got training wheels,’” she said. “And so he went and got some birthday balloons, and he got some flowers for Meghan and a birthday card, and he said, ‘OK, I’m gonna bike over and take it to their house.’”
Watson was stopped by security, naturally, and left the bike for Archie after explaining he was from “a British business in town.”
A few weeks later, a courier arrived with the thank you letter.
“It was so thoughtful because, you know, they took the time to write something personal and not just a generic thank you,” said Blevins.
It was recently the Sussexes youngest’s birthday as well — their daughter Lilibet turned two-years-old on June 4. Watson and Blevins emphasized that she could grow into using Archie’s bike someday, too.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.