Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sent a special thank you note to the owners of the Mad Dogs & Englishmen Bike Shop in Montecito, California, for giving Prince Archie a bike for his fourth birthday. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex sent their “sincere thanks for the thoughtful gift” and “lovely surprise” in a letter that the bike shop shared on their Instagram page. Their letter also said, “The bike has brought much joy, and is most appreciated by the family.”
The co-owner, Martin, decided to give little Prince Archie the bike on the day of King Charles III’s coronation on May 6, which also happened to be Archie’s fourth birthday. “He went and he got one of our little specialized kids’ bikes — they’re really nice little bikes — and he’s like, ‘This one’s perfect, it’s got training wheels,'” co-owner Jennifer Blevins told PEOPLE. “And so he went and got some birthday balloons, and he got some flowers for Meghan and a birthday card, and he said, ‘Okay, I’m gonna bike over and take it to their house.'”
When Martin got to Prince Harry and Meghan’s house, he was greeted by security who asked him if had received an invitation from the family. “He said, ‘I’m just a British business in town that wanted to give Archie a gift,'” Jennifer said. An on-site background check was performed, and Martin was eventually able to leave his surprise gift for Archie.
“It was so thoughtful because, you know, they took the time to write something personal and not just a generic thank you,” Jennifer said about the thank you note. “His little sister Lily can enjoy it too as she grows, it’ll be one that both of them like.”
Prince Harry was determined to make it back to the States to celebrate his son’s fourth birthday on May 6. He traveled to London to witness his father’s coronation at Westminster Abbey. Following the ceremony, Prince Harry immediately jetted back to California for Prince Archie’s birthday and didn’t participate in any of the other coronation festivities.