Parents have a natural instinct to do all they can to protect their children but those parents in the public eye have more to worry about when it comes to keeping their little ones safe.
Nobody knows that better than the British royal family who are constantly followed by photographers and as adults have to accept that they will always be in the public eye, photographed and scrutinized.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who welcomed their first child son Archie in May 2019, have been careful to limit the photos that are published of him.
Usually, they are not sharing any details about Archie – but recently, his father revealed a fact no one knew about…
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on 6 May 2019 at the Portland Hospital in London.
Today, he is sixth in the line of succession to the British throne. Following Royal Family tradition the couple released the first image of the sweet boy on Instagram, two days after his arrival in 2019.
Alongside pictures of a beaming Prince Harry holding his son and arm in arm with Meghan, the post read: “Today The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are delighted to share their first public moment as a family.
They then followed the post up with a picture of the Queen meeting her new grandson alongside Harry and Meghan’s mom Doria Ragland revealing his full name Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Two months after his birth, Archie was christened by the Archbishop of Canterbury, during a private ceremony in the chapel at Windsor Castle.
The little toddler wore the royal christening gown and was christened with water from the River Jordan. Harry and Meghan kept to traditions – but refused to make the identities of Archie’s godparents public.
In September 2019, the couple would delight fans again by releasing a series of images from their time in South Africa to meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
“Thank you Archbishop Tutu for your incredibly warm hospitality, Archie loved meeting you!” their Instagram post read.
Archie has already experienced a lot. During his first year in life, he accompanied his parents on their Southern African tour and has been to Malawi, Angola, South Africa, and Botswana.
In retrospect, however, Meghan had a lot to say about the time after Archie was born, revealing some shocking details.
It all began when Harry and Meghan sat down with TV host Oprah in the garden of her home in Montecito, California. They proceeded to spill the truth about their experiences within The Firm.
Meghan Markle didn’t hold back, revealing that Prince Charles was refusing to take Harry’s phone calls and stating that Kate Middleton had made her cry over the flower-girl dresses on her wedding day – this was in direct contradiction to earlier claims made by the tabloids.
However, the most shocking part occurred when Meghan claimed conversations had taken place within the palace concerning how dark Archie’s skin would be.
“They were concerned that if he were too brown, that that would be a problem?” Oprah asked Meghan.
“I wasn’t able to follow up with why,” Meghan replied. “But that — if that’s the assumption you’re making, I think that feels like a pretty safe one.”
She declined to name a specific person who had commented, adding only: “I think that would be very damaging to them.”
Archie, 3, is entitled to be the Earl of Dumbarton, but his parents have reportedly declined the honorary title.
It’s thought that Harry and Meghan made the decision so that Archie will never have royal engagements, duties, or patronages. Instead, the couple has formed their own charitable organization Archewell which focuses on conservation, female empowerment, and gender equality.
Back in January 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked the world when they announced their decision to step back from royal life and become “financially independent.”
The hostile treatment of the couple by the British tabloid press was one of the motivations behind ”Megxit”, according to reports. It has also been speculated that perceived racism towards Meghan also played a part in the decision, according to MSNBC.
Meghan is often singled out as the driving force behind the break-off from the British royal family. Prince Harry hasn’t spoken that much about the split, though he said that “the decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly,” but, “there really was no other option”.
The couple and their 10-month-old son Archie took a private jet to the sunshine state just days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the country’s borders would be closing due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to move to the beach town Santa Barbara outside of Los Angeles was made with their young son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, in mind. According to sources, Meghan and Harry wanted their son to grow up in a big house –close to all the elements of nature.
“Archie is really happy, and he has some space to run free. The house came with a play structure that he’ll be climbing in no time,” an insider told Harpers Bazaar.
“They’re excited to be there and to become part of the community. It’s a really happy time for them as a family.”
Does Archie look like his dad?
Many royal fans have speculated as to which side of the family Archie is most like but as all parents know babies change every day.
“We’re still trying to figure that out,” Meghan said, according to People.
“Everyone says babies change so much over two weeks,” Harry said. “We’re basically monitoring how the changing process happens over this next month, really. His looks are changing every single day, so who knows?”
Harry and Meghan’s last few years have been hectic by any measurement. But they try to leave their children out of the spotlight as much as possible. So unlike the other royal children, the public rarely gets to hear or see much of Archie or Lilibet.
But recently, Prince Harry revealed some interesting details about his oldest child. For example, he said that Archie, now 3, has a squeaky voice.
The prince made the connections while speaking with the winners of the 2022 WellChild Awards, a ceremony that celebrates children with serious illnesses.
In the ceremony over Zoom, Prince Harry met 4-year-old Henry Waines, one of the children participating in the event.
The Duke first told the young boy, “My name is Henry as well but everyone calls me Harry and I have no idea why.”
Henry’s mother was on the call as well, explaining that she and her husband Paul had named their son after the duke after Paul found out that Harry’s real name was Henry.
After young Henry had several excited outbursts, Harry laughingly explained: “I tell you what, you sound just like my son Archie, the same little squeaky voice. I love it.”
Little Henry then asked Harry how his kids were, with the Duke revealing Archie and Lilibet are doing “great”.
He added that Archie is “very busy”, while Lilibet, one, is “learning to use her voice”.
Prince Harry was meant to present the awards in person on September 8 but pulled out after travelling to Scotland to visit the dying Queen.
Since the Queen’s passing, and King Charles ascending to the throne, there has been a lot of curiosity and confusion about the Sussex children’s titles. The Sun reported a few days ago that King Charles had agreed to issue letters of patent to confer titles of Prince and Princess to both Archie and Lilibet. However, the children would not be getting the HRH stylings from their grandfather, the King.
The decision has apparently left Harry and Meghan upset as it means their family would not be getting any security and the children would not be able to use the HRH style of address.
Hopefully, the family will come to a resolution to this matter which pleases all parties involved.