Meghan Markle turns 42: Duchess’ plans for family celebration and yearly birthday ritual revealed

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, celebrates her 42nd birthday on August 4. Photo / AP

Meghan Markle celebrates her 42nd birthday on August 4.

The Duchess of Sussex is likely to mark the milestone at home in California tomorrow local time, with her husband Prince Harry and their children Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2.

Meghan didn’t host any big celebrations for her 41st birthday last year, though it came a year after she marked her 40th birthday by announcing her “40x40″ initiative calling for volunteers to give 40 minutes of their time to support women returning to the workforce.

Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex! pic.twitter.com/HrYdCbe6N1

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) August 4, 2022

She shared news of the initiative on a video call with comedian Melissa McCarthy, featuring a surprise cameo from Harry himself.

Meghan is known to take part in her own birthday ritual each year, first revealing the annual tradition in a post on her blog The Tig in 2016 - the year she first met Harry.

“My mom has always said that birthdays are your own personal New Year,” she wrote.

“Your own chance to make resolutions just for yourself and what you prognosticate for your year ahead.”

The royal family shared their congratulations with the Duchess on her birthday last year, with the King, Queen Camilla, Princess Kate and Prince William all sharing messages on social media.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with their two children, Archie and Lilibet. Photo / Alexi Lubomirski/Handout/The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

William and Kate shared a snap of Meghan during a visit to the UK for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, writing, “Wishing a happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex.”

And the King’s official account shared a similar photo of Meghan at the Service of Thanksgiving for the Queen at St Paul’s Cathedral in London on June 3 last year, writing, “Happy birthday to The Duchess of Sussex!”

Tyler Perry, a close friend of both Harry and Meghan, shared a birthday message last year that read, “I’ve had a front row seat in your life for the past few years. I’ve watched you endure things that would have broken a lot of people. I’m so incredibly proud to see how happy you, your husband, and your kids are now. It fills me with joy to say Happy Birthday Princess Meghan.”

This summer in the US also marks another milestone for the Sussexes - it’s three years since the couple first settled down in Montecito following 2020′s Megxit. A family source tells People magazine that their life in the US is “very different” for Prince Harry in particular, but it’s something he “seems to be embracing”.

The source also says the couple are down-to-earth, calling Harry a “beer and steak-and-potatoes kind of dude ... they’re playful and flirty when they’re hanging out.”

While the Sussexes occasionally appear at restaurants, markets and the beach near their home, they spend most of their time at their sprawling Montecito estate and are “not into a big scene”, the source claims.

“They prefer smaller group hangouts at home, karaoke, that sort of thing,” their friend reveals, with another adding that Meghan picks up Archie from school and “talks to everyone; there is no pretence”.

Another source tells the outlet the couple are content to “focus on their kids and their life in Montecito” and are “very united when it comes to family values and how to raise their kids”.

Little Archie and Lilibet are their parents’ “world”, another shares, adding that Harry and Meghan’s “goal” for their children is to “have a normal life as much as possible”.