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Baby Archie: Duchess of Sussex reads to son to mark his first birthday

The Duchess of Sussex read the book Duck! Rabbit! to her son

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have marked their son's first birthday by releasing a video of Meghan reading to a beaming Archie.

The clip, filmed by Prince Harry, shows the duchess reading Duck! Rabbit! - one of Archie's favourite books.

It was posted on Instagram as part of a Save the Children fundraising campaign for children and families struggling due to coronavirus.

Archie, sitting on his mother's lap, smiles and grips the book throughout.

The couple are believed to have filmed the clip in the US, where they are living.

Archie can be seen grabbing at the pages and at one point appears on the verge of tears before breaking into a smile.

Prince Harry can be heard laughing in the background at various moments throughout the clip.

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In the video, Archie - who Meghan calls "Arch" - is seen wriggling around and reaching for another book midway through the story.

He later drops the second book on the floor. When the duchess tucks it down the side of the chair out of sight, he reaches for it once more and again drops it on the floor - prompting a laugh from Prince Harry.

At the end of the story, the duchess cuddles her son and says "good job", while Prince Harry cheers "bravo".

Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 6 May 2019, weighing 7lb 3oz. His parents introduced Archie to cameras at Windsor Castle a few days after his birth.

On Wednesday, he received birthday wishes from the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on social media.

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Duck! Rabbit!, written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld, asks children to work out whether pictures on the pages are of ducks or rabbits.

A caption for the video, shared on Save the Children's UK account, reads: "'Duck! Rabbit!' with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex (and Harry, the Duke of Sussex behind the camera)... Happy Birthday, Archie!"

It added: "Thank you Duchess Meghan for helping us to raise urgent funds for our coronavirus appeal."

The video is part of the charity's Save with Stories campaign to support children who have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Funds raised in the UK will go towards Save the Children UK's emergency grants programme to help vulnerable families purchase basic items and food, according to the charity.