They grow up so fast.PHOTO:

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Princess Lilibet is just one sleep away from turning the big 3. Ahead of her special day, the young royal got the party started a little early. Over the weekend, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry held a celebration for the toddler at their home in Montecito, California, according to People. The presumably exclusive guest list including family members, close friends of Meghan and Harry’s, as well as a few of Lilibet’s own friends.

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Last year, the royal—who was born on June 4, 2021—celebrated her birthday in the Golden State surrounded by her family. Harry even arranged his plans so that he would be in town for her festivities before jetting off to the U.K. for a court appearance in his trial against the British tabloids. In 2022, the family celebrated Lilibet’s first birthday with a picnic in England when they were across the pond for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee. The couple released an adorable portrait of their daughter, taken by their longtime photographer and friend Misan Harriman, in which she wore a blue dress and bow-embellished headband in a grassy field.

During their recent trip to Nigeria, Markle opened up about parenting their two kids. Archie and Lilibet, and shared the sweetest story about Lilibet at their visit to a school in Abuja.

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“Our daughter, Lili, she’s much, much tinier than you guys,” Markle told the group of children. “She’s about to turn 3. And a few weeks ago, she looked at me, and she would just see the reflection in my eyes. And she said, ‘Mama, I see me in you.’”

She added that while her daughter most likely meant the sentiment in a literal way, it struck a chord with her.

“Oh, now she was talking really literally. But I hung onto those words in a very different way,” she continued. “And I thought, yes, I do see me in you, and you see me…As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you, as well.