The Duchess of Sussex gave birth to her first child Archie at the private Portland Hospital in Westminster, her son’s birth certificate revealed this afternoon.
Meghan, who gave her name as ‘Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex’, listed her job as ‘Princess of the United Kingdom’ – the same as Kate has done previously – as her son’s birth was registered by her husband the Duke of Sussex today.
Meghan’s official title is the Duchess of Sussex, but when she married Harry, she technically became ‘Her Royal Highness, Princess Harry of Wales’ – which is why she is a ‘princess’ on the document.
But despite this, she will never be Princess Meghan as she married into the royal family and was not born into it. Under archane rules, she requires ‘royal blood’ and the Queen would have to reverse centuries of tradition to alter this.
Archie’s birth certificate confirmed the place of birth as the Portland Hospital and dismissed speculation that Meghan, who married Harry a year ago on Sunday, had a home birth in the sanctuary of Frogmore Cottage – the Sussexes’ home on the Windsor Estate.
And unlike most new parents who have 42 days to attend their local registry office, the deputy registrar of Westminster Council, Dexsha Mevada, made the approximately 24-mile trip to the Sussex’s Windsor home.
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, the seventh in line to the throne and an eighth great-grandchild for the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, arrived at 5.26am on May 6, weighing 7lb 3oz.
Until now, the duke and duchess have been trying to keep the birth location private and details of their medical staff a secret. But the certificate from the City of Westminster register office revealed some key details.
It confirms Archie is the baby’s full name – rather than being short for something else such as Archibald – and that Meghan’s first name is Rachel. Meanwhile, it reveals the birth was registered today, 11 days after Archie was born.
The certificate was typed out in the same style as that of Prince Louis in April 2018, after the documents for Princess Charlotte and Prince George were handwritten, which led to many people making fun of the poor handwriting of the registrar.
On the original certificate Prince Harry wrote his signature but on the copy provided to the media his name was printed instead.
A spokesman for The Portland Hospital said today: ‘Huge congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the birth of baby Archie.For reasons of patient confidentiality, we are unable to provide any comment or information.’
Harry announced to the world his wife had given birth to a boy and could not hide his happiness at becoming a father for the first time, to a baby he said was ‘absolutely to-die-for’.
The duke was at his wife’s side during the birth and he later confessed he had only had a few hours’ sleep, suggesting Meghan had spent much of the night in labour.
It was initially unclear where Archie had been born but the Daily Mail confirmed Meghan went to the luxury private hospital.
Archie is believed to be the first mixed-race child born to a senior member of the royal family in centuries, and is a reflection of modern Britain with its culturally diverse population.
His birth came less than a year after Harry married American former actress Meghan in a glittering ceremony in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, became engaged following a whirlwind 16-month romance after going on a blind date in London.
The protective parents want to ensure their son grows up away from the limelight.
Harry, who knows only too well the pressure that comes with being a Windsor and once admitted he ‘wanted out’ of the royal family, is set on allowing his son to have as normal a life as possible.
Royal protection officers will always be close by, while help from housekeepers and aides will be the norm, but Harry and Meghan will be hands-on parents.
The royal baby, who was not given a courtesy title, met his uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, for the first time on Tuesday, having already spent time with his maternal grandmother Doria Ragland and his royal great grandparents, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
Luxury private hospital the Portland offers new parents a ‘celebration meal’ complete with champagne, lobster and foie gras.
Meghan was thought to have wanted a home birth after rejecting a stay at the Lindo Wing in London’s Paddington where the Duchess of Cambridge famously posed with her three newborns.
But more than a week overdue, she was forced to have Archie in hospital – and the birth certificate revealed today that this was the Portland in central London.
The Portland’s childbirth packages start from £15,000 and run up to £20,000.
Other famous mothers who have had their babies there include Victoria Beckham, Liz Hurley and Jools Oliver.
Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York also gave birth to Princess Eugenie and Beatrice at the private hospital.
Staff offer 24-hour room service in their lavish labour suites, which come complete with Molton Brown toiletries and four-poster cots.
It is understood Meghan’s mother Doria went with Harry and her daughter to the hospital overnight.
Within hours of becoming new parents the three returned to the couple’s new home at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Prince Harry, 34, then announced the birth in a beaming address in Windsor.
He said: ‘I’m very excited to announce that Meghan and myself had a baby boy earlier this morning, a very healthy boy. Mother and baby are doing incredibly well. It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined.
‘How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful to all the love and support from everybody out there. It’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody.’
Asked if they had any names yet, he said: ‘Still thinking about names. The baby is a little bit overdue, so we’ve had a little bit of time to think about it.
‘That’s the next bit, but for us I think we will be seeing you guys in probably two days’ time as planned as a family to be able to share it with you guys and so everyone can see the baby.’
Asked what it was like to be present for the birth, he laughed and said: ‘I haven’t been at many births.
‘This is definitely my first birth. It was amazing, absolutely incredible, and, as I said, I’m so incredibly proud of my wife.
‘As every father and parent will ever say, you know, your baby is absolutely amazing, but this little thing is absolutely to-die-for, so I’m just over the moon.’
SOURCE: Daily Mail, Mark Duell
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