The Queen and the Prince of Wales have wished Archie Mountbatten-Windsor a happy second birthday.

The royal family posted messages on social media on Thursday morning, alongside images of Archie when he was a baby.

The son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has spent much of his life living in America with his parents.

Meghan recently revealed her son and husband and their special bond was the inspiration behind her first children’s publication, The Bench.

The Queen, in a message on the official royal family Twitter account, accompanied by a PA news agency photograph of her great-grandson with his parents days after he was born, said: “Wishing Archie Mountbatten-Windsor a very happy 2nd birthday today.”

And Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, shared a photo, taken by fashion photographer Chris Allerton, of Harry proudly showing Archie off to the child’s grandfather at his christening.

Harry’s brother, the Duke of Cambridge, and his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, also wished Archie a “very happy” birthday, alongside another christening photo showing the family together.

The little boy has only been seen rarely during the past 12 months, but did feature in a black and white video clip released in March, showing him walking along a beach watched by his parents and the family’s pet dog, Guy.

As he walked towards his father, who filmed the moment, the youngster ducked down and walked through the gap in his legs.

When he made a surprise appearance in the Sussexes’ first podcast for Spotify in December, his American accent could clearly be heard as he was encouraged to say a few words for the audience.

The Sussexes’ Christmas card was decorated with a stylised image of Archie and his parents sitting in front of a Wendy house, thought to be at their Californian home, with the couple’s pet dogs.

The image was based on a photograph taken by Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, and a tiny Christmas tree in the picture had been decorated with ornaments selected by Archie.

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on May 6 2019 at 5.26am, weighing 7lb 3oz, and a few days after his birth his parents proudly showed him to the world, before the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh saw him for the first time.

Meghan’s mother, a yoga instructor and social worker, was pictured at the gathering and she has been a constant presence in the Sussexes’ lives, and lives in Los Angeles where Meghan grew up and went to school.

For his first birthday, Harry and Meghan released a video of their boisterous son playing up for the camera as his mother read him the popular children’s tale Duck! Rabbit!

Fans will be hoping the couple follow royal tradition and release a picture of Archie to mark his second birthday.

Since stepping down as working royals and moving to the US, the Sussexes have forged ahead with their lives.

The couple have signed lucrative deals, thought to be worth well over £100 million, with Spotify and Netflix, that have given them the capital to pursue their new lifestyle and public goals.

They have also bought a multi-million pound home in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California, launched a non-profit foundation and announced Meghan’s pregnancy, with a baby girl due in the summer, after a miscarriage last year.

Harry and Meghan’s recent interview with Oprah Winfrey left the royal family in crisis after they alleged the monarchy was a racist and uncaring institution.

The couple claimed a member of the family, not the Queen or the late Duke of Edinburgh, made a racist comment about their son, and how the duchess had suicidal thoughts but her approaches to the monarchy for help were turned down.