Harry and Meghan post Instagram message for Archie’s first Thanksgiving

Harry and Meghan have wished their social media followers a ‘very Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are celebrating Archie’s first Thanksgiving and marked the day on their joint SussexRoyal Instagram account.

The message, white text on a blue background, read: ‘Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours – Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex.’

A comment read ‘Happy Thanksgiving!’ and a maple leaf emoji.

It is not clear if Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is spending time with the family in the UK or whether they have travelled to the US for the American national holiday today.

The maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada – but the emoji is also used in Thanksgiving posts to denote the season.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Z7CPglUhd/

The Sussexes have taken a break from Royal duties for six weeks after a busy summer which included their highly publicised tour of Southern Africa.

Following the tour, Prince Harry made a dramatic defence of his wife and attacked sections of the press that he accused of bullying her.

It means they will not join in a major gathering of the British monarchy next Tuesday, when the Queen will lead her family in welcoming Nato leaders, including US President Donald Trump, to Buckingham Palace for a reception marking 70 years of the alliance.

And the couple have already announced they will not be spending Christmas Day with the Queen, Duke of Edinburgh and the rest of the royal family at Sandringham in Norfolk.

The Queen is said to be supportive of their plans, and it follows the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s past decision to spend Christmas with Kate’s parents, and not with the monarch.

In an ITV documentary of their Africa trip, Harry and Meghan opened up about the struggles they had faced as newlyweds and new parents under the glare of the spotlight.

Harry admitted he and his brother William are now ‘on different paths’ and have ‘good days’ and ‘bad days’ in their relationship.

While Meghan described the past year as a member of the royal family as ‘hard’, saying her British friends had warned her not to marry Harry.

On Wednesday, the couple marked two years since their engagement was announced, sharing images of their November 2017 photocall, a behind-the-scenes wedding picture, and one of newborn Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor’s first public appearance when he was two days old.