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Archie Is Helping Kids In Need Stay Warm — With A Little Help From Mom & Dad

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry purchased 100 handcrafted hats from a New Zealand company to gift to "Archie's Kiwi friends."

by Morgan Brinlee

Although just 19 months old, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor is already getting a valuable lesson in generosity thanks to his parents. In partnership with a New Zealand-based crafting company, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have donated "Archie beanies" to hundreds of Archie's Kiwi friends, the company revealed Sunday.

According to Make Give Live, a sustainable social enterprise that runs community knitting groups throughout New Zealand and is responsible for the adorable knitted beanie Archie was spotted wearing in January, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex purchased 100 beanies to donate to New Zealand children in need. However, because Make Give Live operates on a buy-one-give-one model, the couple's purchase has resulted in 200 beanies being donated.

"Meghan & Harry have generously given us a gift that will keep on giving well beyond this Christmas," Make Give Live wrote in an Instagram post shared Sunday. "We love that they share our values and wrote to us just before Christmas to order 100 beanies to donate to Archie's Kiwi friends (children in need in NZ) which, based on our model of Buy one - Give one, will enable us to donate 200 beanies."

While their purchase will certainly help Archie's Kiwi friends stay warm, their gift also serves another purpose in light of the lockdowns and isolations seen in countries across the world throughout the year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. "They said that they wanted to help our members continue to enjoy making, connecting, and supporting each other," Make Give Live revealed Sunday, noting that such support and connection "has never been as important as now."

The crafting company also gave a shoutout to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who they said had helped facilitate communications with Markle and Prince Harry. "Thank you @jacindaardern for letting them know we were trying to get in touch to wish them Merry Christmas and thank them for shining a light on the work we do with this image that captured hearts around the world."

The image Make Give Live is referencing is, of course, the sweet photo of a beanie-clad Archie and Prince Harry in Canada, which the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared at the beginning of 2020. In the photo, Archie wears Make Give Live's "Cocobear" beanie, which is made from 100% New Zealand Merino wool and features two poms. According to The Guardian, Markle had been gifted a "Cocobear" beanie by Make Give Live when she visited New Zealand while pregnant in 2018.

It seems Markle, Prince Harry, and little Archie enjoyed their "Cocobear" beanie so much they decided to pay the gift forward and facilitate the donation of beanies to hundreds of needy children.