On May 6, 2019, just under a year after their 2018 fairytale wedding, Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle announced the birth of their first child — a healthy, 7-pounds, 3-ounce, baby boy. The news was first revealed on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Instagram and then on a placard placed at the entrance of Buckingham Palace by a pair of courtiers dressed in tails and red vests. Later in the day, a beaming Prince Harry informed reporters waiting outside the couple's Windsor Castle home that the "mother and baby are doing incredibly well." When asked what it felt like to be a dad, he gushed, "It's been the most amazing experience that I could ever possibly imagine."
Following the exciting announcement, royal fans both in the UK and Markle's home country, the United States, began to speculate, and even wager, on what the child would be named. Since royal babies have traditionally been named after previous British monarchs, the most popular guesses for the first name ranged from Alexander to Spencer, James, Arthur, and Theodore. However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shunned the custom and instead went with Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Originally a nickname for Archibald, which means genuine, bold, and brave, the name has no other significance except for the fact that both parents really liked it. The newborn's second name, Harrison, which means "son of Harry," is a nod to the proud father, while Mountbatten-Windsor is a form of surname used by the royal family.
Though the royal couple did not stick to convention when naming their first born, they did follow other traditions. This included presenting the the newborn to his great-grandmother, 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, and great-grandfather, 97-year-old Prince Philip.
Additionally, for his first official public appearance at Windsor Castle's St George’s Hall on May 8, 2019, the then two-day-old was wrapped in a beautiful handmade Ivory White Leaves and Flowers shawl made by G.H. Hurt & Sons. The 70-year-old tradition was started by the Queen, when she proudly introduced her firstborn, Archie's grandfather Prince Charles, in a similar shawl from the brand. Since then, every royal baby, including Prince Harry, has made his/her public debut in the handmade blanket, which is crafted using the finest and softest merino wool.
Archie, who is seventh in line for the British throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William and his three children, and Prince Harry himself, is unlikely ever to be king. Though he was eligible to use his father's subsidiary title, the Earl of Dumbarton, his parents decided against it, at least for the time being. They want little Archie, who to according his proud mother "has the sweetest temperament," to live "as normal a life as possible."
Congratulations to the royal family!
Resources: CNN.com,Time.com,hellomagazine.com,NPR.com
