The release of Prince Harry’s autobiography Spare has the entire world’s attention.
He not only gave visitors a glimpse into his working-royal life, but also provided details about some of his allegedly closest relatives. He also elaborated about his military service and upbringing, which included his mother Princess Diana’s passing.
The firstborn child of Harry and Meghan Markle, Archie, was the focus of recent revelations about their family.
Harry and Meghan obviously like being in the spotlight, but they have made efforts to provide their kids a more protected upbringing.
As a result, Archie and his sister Lilibet haven’t been seen very often.
But in the December airing of the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, Harry and Meghan let their guard down and shared numerous intimate moments with their kids.
Harry revealed additional details about his personal life in Spare. Interesting enough, that includes getting high while Meghan was giving birth to Archie.
The relationship between Harry and Meghan has become somewhat of an obsession for the British tabloid press. Even then, it shouldn’t come as a surprise as it looks like half the world is interested in what they are doing.
Archie’s safety from reporters was something Harry was “obsessed” with.
The news that Meghan Markle will be entering the British Royal Family created quite a stir because she was already well-known because to her appearance in the television series Suit.
Archie, the son of Harry and Meghan, was delivered at The Portland Hospital in London on May 6, 2019. It was a momentous occasion, as with the birth of any royal child, but Harry and Meghan took a different approach.
Katie Nicholl, a royal specialist, claims that Harry was apparently preoccupied with withholding information about the birth of his baby from the media. Nicholl wrote in her book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown that Harry was “almost morbidly preoccupied” with preventing the public from learning about Archie’s birth.
However, the need for privacy was disregarded because the small kid had millions of devoted admirers and the bulk of the public was interested in learning more about him in the “unwritten contract between the royals and the public.”
“Behind the scenes, matters were so fraught that more than one official — as I know from personal experience — was reduced to tears of frustration and despair,” Rebecca English, royal editor of the Daily Mail, added.
A royal baby’s parents typically appear in front of the media on the hospital’s stairs with their newborn son or daughter. The pleased parents normally respond to a few questions after the pictures are taken before slipping away once more for some privacy.
However, according to Katie Nicholl, Harry and Meghan chose to approach the birth of their son in a different way. They deceived reporters and photographers rather than dealing with the media directly.
The customary first baby photos were taken at St Mary’s Hospital, where Prince William, Harry, and William’s children were all born. But Meghan’s physician was employed by Portland Hospital. It made logical to give birth there as a result. The Sussexes were also informed that the location would not allow photos owing to safety concerns at the entrance.
“Harry had always enjoyed outfoxing the media,” Nicholl wrote in The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown.
“He and Meghan were thrilled to be safely delivered of their son in London’s private Portland hospital even before the palace press office had confirmed the duchess was in labor.”
In their Netflix documentary series, Meghan explained how she was anxious about what might happen the day her baby boy was born.
“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,” she said.
Two days later, however, Harry and Meghan decided to participate in a brief photo session, where one reporter got to ask questions.
Though everything was in order, it turned out that their time at the hospital had been quite dramatic. At least for Harry, something he’s now revealed in his book, Spare.
Harry. & Meghan claimed royal fear over Archie’s skin color
Before Archie could even talk or walk, he was caught up in a considerable controversy within the Royal Family. It all started with the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, where his mother, Meghan, spoke openly about her time and troubles where living in the UK was concerned.
She revealed many things about the Firm, including that then-Prince Charles refused to take Harry’s phone calls.
However, the most shocking part occurred when Meghan claimed conversations had taken place within the palace concerning how dark Archie’s skin would be before his birth.
“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 the person who commented, adding only: “I think that would be very damaging to them.”
By the time Harry and Meghan’s royal duties officially ended on March 31, 2020, they had already welcomed Archie. The family is now four after the arrival of their daughter, Lilibet, in 2021.
Harry and Meghan provided an intimate insight into family life at their home in Montecito, California, in the first episode of the Netflix documentary. Their house was once called “Fort Knox,” thus it makes sense that security is high.
Harry and Meghan granted access to their estate to royal fans all over the world for the first time through the documentary. Viewers discovered Archie and Lilibet there.
Regarding how much of their children are revealed to the public, Harry and Meghan have been quite private. Only a few times have Archie and Lilibet been captured in photographs, but now the world has a better look at them.
Despite the documentary’s more somber sections, three-year-old Archie lrgely stole the show by making multiple appearances. In addition, audiences heard him speak for the first time.
In one heartwarming scene filmed by Meghan, Prince Harry can be seen birdwatching with Archie from the patio of their Montecito mansion.
Meghan was also watching the hummingbirds near their house, and Harry, an avid bird watcher, told his son that he should be quiet and just listen to the sounds of nature.
“We won’t get a chance to be this close to hummingbirds ever again,” Harry told Archie.
Of course, with Archie being just three years old, he did the exact opposite. Just moments after being told to stay quiet by his father, he became rather loud.
“I’ve got a dirty foot mama because I was with you,” Archie said, and his parents started laughing.
“You’ve got a dirty foot, sweetheart,” Meghan replied. “Papa is a birdwatcher so this is a really big moment for him.”
The documentary also included several intimate family pictures of Harry and Meghan with Archie. In one of the clips, Archie runs up a hill while Lilibet is pushed in a stroller by her father. Another of the royal couple’s photos shows Harry cuddling up with Archie – wearing a knitted hooded jumper with bear ears – beneath an umbrella.
More photos follow, including those showing Archie and Meghan feeding their chickens, and another from Archie’s birthday party, where Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, makes an appearance.
We all know that the late Princess Diana has been a significant figure for the Royal Family, but most of all for her sons, William and Harry. Harry has previously spoken about his mother, even comparing Meghan to her regarding the media following her around.
Diana also had a small part in the Netflix documentary, and not just through Harry’s recollections of her. In a heartbreaking scene, Meghan can be seen holding Archie in front of a picture of Diana while she explains who she is.
Other intimate pictures in the documentary revealed Archie resting on Meghan’s baby bump when she was pregnant with Lilibet.
As everyone is aware, the late Princess Diana was important to the Royal Family, particularly to her sons William and Harry. Regarding the paparazzi following Meghan around, Harry has already talked about his mother and even drawn comparisons between her and Meghan.
Not simply through Harry’s memories of her, Diana also played a modest part in the Netflix documentary. In a tragic scene, Meghan is shown holding Archie while speaking about her identity in front of a picture of Diana.
Archie was seen in other personal images from the documentary lying on Meghan’s growing baby while she was carrying Lilibet.
But the cutest picture of them all might be one where Archie is wearing a blue hat and blue Crocs, sitting on Harry’s shoulder in a sweet father-son moment.
Another short video of Archie was also included in the documentary. It shows a beautiful sunset from the Sussexes’ patio while Meghan asks Archie what he thinks.
“Well, it’s all done, beautiful,” he answered.
The fact that Archie is talking might not come as a surprise. However, many fans reacted to the manner of Archie’s speech. As he’s been living in the US for quite a while, the young boy has adopted an American accent – and fans couldn’t help but remark on it.
“Not Archie having the most adorable American accent,” one user wrote on Twitter.
“Prince Archie has an American accent? I didn’t have any expectations of what he’d sound like but it was not that,” a second person tweeted.
Experts have previously discussed the question of Archie’s accent. He will sound American rather than British, though, because he lives in the US and interacts with other local kids.
Children who live in the US and have relatives in the UK, however, occasionally change their accents when they cross the Atlantic.
Geoffrey Pullum, a linguist and retired professor of general linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, is one authority who contends that Archie’s accent will alter as he ages.
“If Archie’s first experience of mixing with other kids is in a Los Angeles preschool, he will develop a Californian US accent,” Pullum said.
“He may learn to speak like an American kid in California, but be able to switch to a British accent when he visits in England,” Berko Gleason, an emerita professor at Boston University who researches language acquisition, added.
Harry reveals details of Archie’s birth
While Harry and Meghan have their hands full raising their children and orchestrating other career-driven projects, the start of their parenthood was quite dramatic, at least for Harry.
In his book, Spare, Harry criticized many family members and brought other aspects of his life to the spotlight, including, for example, the day his mother, Princess Diana, died in a tragic car crash.
That said, the Prince did also bring some more positive memories to life.
In Spare, Harry described the extraordinary scene at the Portland Hospital where he decided to get high on laughing gas to calm himself down.
“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,” Harry wrote in his tell-all book.
“Meg was so calm. I was calm too.”
He added: “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.”
Harry then explained that a nurse tried giving his wife the gas for the pain, but he had already consumed it all.
“I could see the thought slowly dawning”
“I could see the thought slowly dawning. Gracious, the husband’s had it all. ‘Sorry,” I said meekly.’”
Eventually, doctors decided to give Meghan an epidural to ease the pain.
“The anesthetist hurried in. Off went the music, on went the lights. Whoa. Vibe change.”
Though there was an initial worry that Archie had been tangled up in his umbilical cord, he emerged unharmed – reducing both Harry and Meghan to tears.
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