Royalty always gets a lot of attention, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to have received even more than usual. Ever since they started dating, the British tabloid press has been closely following them.
It’s no surprise that Prince Harry gets so much attention. He’s not only well-known in the UK, but now that he lives in the United States, it seems like the whole world is interested in him.
When he married Meghan Markle, she already had a fanbase from her role in the TV show “Suits.” This even caused some tension when she became part of the royal family.
Big news came on May 6, 2019, at Portland Hospital in London when Harry and Meghan welcomed their first child, Archie. The birth of a royal baby is always a big deal, but Harry and Meghan chose to do things differently.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl wrote in her book, The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown, that Harry was “morbidly obsessed” with keeping the details of Archie’s birth private from the press.
“You really can’t keep something like that secret with millions of people around the world trying to gather information,” she said. While Harry wanted privacy, many felt this was a breach of the “unwritten contract” between royals and the public.
Rebecca English, a royal editor for the Daily Mail, added that “matters were so fraught that more than one official…was reduced to tears of frustration and despair.”
After the birth of a royal baby, it’s tradition for the parents to pose for a photo outside the hospital and answer a few questions.
However, Harry and Meghan wanted to do things differently. Nicholl explained that they tricked the media so they could avoid this tradition.
Harry and Meghan chose Portland Hospital for the birth partly for safety reasons. Since Meghan’s doctors worked there, they thought it was the best place for their first child.
Harry had always liked outsmarting the media, and he and Meghan were happy to have their son in a private hospital, even before the palace press office confirmed that Meghan was in labor.
In the Netflix documentary, Meghan talked about how anxious she felt about the birth, saying, “There was already the pressure of the picture on the steps… But I had been really worried going into that labor because I’m older, I didn’t know if I’d have to have a c-section, and I had a very longstanding relationship with my doctor, and that’s who I trusted with my pregnancy.”
A few days later, the couple had a short photo session and let one reporter ask questions. They wanted privacy but ended up in the middle of the drama.
Even before Archie could walk or talk, there was controversy. In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan talked about her struggles living in the UK and shared that Prince Charles had refused to take Harry’s calls at that time. She also mentioned troubling conversations within the palace about how dark Archie’s skin might be.
Oprah asked, “They were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem?”
Meghan replied, “I wasn’t able to follow up with why, but that – if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one.”
She chose not to name the person who made the comment, saying it would be “damaging to them.”
On March 31, 2020, Harry and Meghan officially ended their royal duties. By then, Archie had already been born, and Lilibet arrived the following year.
Harry and Meghan also gave the world a look into their home through their Netflix documentary, which was a first. It had been called a “Fort Knox” by others.
In the documentary, photos of Archie and Lilibet were shown, including one of Archie feeding chickens with his mother and pictures from his birthday party.
Harry also shared memories of his mother, Diana, in the documentary. There’s a part where Meghan is holding Archie and showing him a picture of Diana, explaining who she is.
Since we got to hear Archie speak in the documentary for the first time, many were surprised to hear that he spoke with an American accent. Since he grew up in the United States for most of his life, this really shouldn’t be a surprise.
There were also details about Archie’s birth that surprised many. In his book Spare, Harry shared many personal stories, including the day his mother, Princess Diana, died in a car crash.
He also talked about how he used laughing gas to calm his nerves when he was at Portland Hospital while Archie was being born.
He said: “But I saw two ways of enhancing my calm. One: Nando’s chicken (brought by our bodyguards). Two: A canister of laughing gas beside Meg’s bed. I took several slow, penetrating hits.”
“Meg was so calm. I was calm too. Meg, bouncing on a giant purple ball, a proven way of giving nature a push, laughed and rolled her eyes. I took several more hits, and now I was bouncing too.”
After some stressful moments during the birth, including concerns that Archie might be tangled in the umbilical cord, he was born safely. Both Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were emotional and cried at the birth.
It’s fascinating to get a glimpse into what really happens behind the scenes.
