Prince Harry, Meghan Markle to celebrate important family event ahead of UK return

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to celebrate an important event in their life this week—their daughter Princess Lilibet Diana's birthday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have pretty much kept to themselves following their "near-catastrophic" car chase involving paparazzi in New York on May 16. But they are bound to be excited to celebrate their daughter's milestone on June 4.

Princess Lilibet Diana will turn two and the former "Suits" star will no doubt prepare a private party in their Montecito mansion in Santa Barbara, California and invite a few close friends and family.

The Duchess of Sussex is known for being active when it comes to preparing for any celebration as shown in their "Harry & Meghan" Netflix docuseries. She was seen setting up the decorations for Prince Archie's birthday and also preparing an Easter egg hunt activity.

Birthdays are important celebrations for the couple. Prince Harry attended his father King Charles III's coronation on May 6, which also fell on Prince Archie's fourth birthday. He returned home to his family in California as soon as the coronation ceremony was over so he could make it to his son's birthday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will no doubt prepare something special for Princess Lilibet Diana too. But it will be a different affair compared to when she had her first birthday in the U.K. The family of four travelled to London in June to join Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. They had an intimate gathering and held a picnic on the grounds of Frogmore Cottage on their daughter's birthday.

A video taken from the party showed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry singing "Happy Birthday" to their daughter and the duchess asked Prince Archie to help blow out the candles. He excitedly obliged and climbed on the table.

They had a few friends over including photographer Misan Harriman and his family. He captured an adorable candid shot of the princess for her first official portrait.

Baker Claire Ptak, who made Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding cake in 2018, also baked a delectable cake on Princess Lilibet's first birthday. She wrote on Instagram at the time, "It was an absolute pleasure to make this special cake last week for Lilibet's birthday. Wishing her a very happy year ahead!"

She made the same lemon and elderflower cake she baked for the couple and used strawberry buttercream frosting. It was reported at the time that Zara and Mike Tindall, along with their three children Mia, Lena, and Lucas, as well as Peter Phillips and his daughters Savannah and Isla, were at the party.

Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were not in attendance and neither were their parents Prince William and Kate Middleton because they had a scheduled public engagement. Prince Charles and Camilla, now King and Queen, were also not at the party.

For their children's birthdays, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex through Archewell Foundation, launched a fundraiser with KABOOM to "support healing and bring joy back to the Uvalde, Texas community. "

"Sussex Community Events is happy to launch The Sussex Squad- KABOOM! Fundraiser to celebrate the birthdays of Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. KABOOM! supports the needs of children and the communities through play. Together we can make a difference to help build playgrounds that end playspace inequity!" reads the announcement. The campaign has since raised $88,479, exceeding its goal of $20,000.

After they celebrate Princess Lilibet Diana's second birthday in California, Prince Harry will return to the U.K. for a legal hearing. According to Hello! magazine, he will give evidence on his privacy suit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged illegal information gathering.