It’s like Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have heard our quarantine prayers for something — anything! — to distract us from everyday terror and boredom. Fortunately for everyone, the couple gifted us with an adorable video of baby Archie.
In celebration of his first birthday(!), Meghan sent a video to help raise funds for Save the Children UK, a global children’s charity. In the video, she is reading Duck! Rabbit! with Archie, as Harry films it. It is a DELIGHT. Seriously.
Duck! Rabbit! was written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. Published in 2009, the book — which has two friends debating over a cloud formation: Is it a duck, or is it a rabbit? — quickly became a bestseller.
Rosenthal, a Jewish mom of three, published more than 30 children’s books during her career. She sadly passed away from ovarian cancer at age 51 in March 2017. Just before she died, she wrote a viral Modern Love piece in The New York Times, “You May Want To Marry My Husband.”
Rosenthal’s husband, Jason, was especially moved by the video of Meghan reading to Archie.
“Seeing Meghan Markle read Duck! Rabbit! was so beautiful and genuine,” Jason wrote. “Although Meghan Markle is clearly one of the most famous people in the world, seeing her read Duck! Rabbit! to her son Archie was so relatable to any parent anywhere. There he was squirming around, smiling and just being a regular little boy. What a testament to Amy that her book has such meaning to so many families.” (You can listen to Jason talk about grief and parenting on an episode of Kveller’s podcast, Call Your Mother.)
The video Meghan and Harry shared was captured for Save the Children’s #SaveWithStories campaign, launched by Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams, intended to aid children impacted by the pandemic.
Throughout the video, Meghan asks Archie (whom she calls “Arch”) to turn the pages — and he’s totally up for the task. In fact, the seemingly well-chewed corners of Archie’s copy of Duck! Rabbit! suggest that this may be a favorite of the royal tot. When Meghan reads, “Did you hear duck sounds?” Harry, who’s behind the camera, chimes in with his own (impressive!) duck sounds.
Towards the end, Archie — a very typically wiggly 1-year-old — goes to pick up a different book. “Let’s finish this book first,” his mom tells him.
Once the book is finished, the famous parents cheer, “Yay, the end! Wooo! Bravo!!”
Watch the video here, and try not to smile:
