Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan of Sussex’s first royal baby was born Monday, a boy weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces, according to Buckingham Palace, only minutes after the palace said Meghan went into labor early Monday.
That means Baby Sussex – name still unknown – has arrived just about one year after the red-haired prince and the former Meghan Markle married in a spectacular wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
“Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex was safely delivered of a son at 05.26 hours. The baby weighs 7lbs 3oz. The Duke of Sussex was present for the birth,” the palace statement said.
The statement said Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Prince William and Duchess Kate and Harry’s maternal aunts and uncle have all been informed and “are delighted with the news.”
“The Duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, who is overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild, is with Their Royal Highnesses at Frogmore Cottage. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
In an interview at Windsor after the birth, a beaming Harry told TV cameras and reporters the baby was “very healthy.”
With the birth of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s royal baby, enjoy looking back at these historic royal births, from the 1940s to today. USA TODAY
“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 for all the love and support from everybody out there. It’s been amazing, so I just wanted to share this with everybody.”
He said they had not decided on a name yet. “The baby’s a little bit overdue so we’ve had a little bit of time to think about it, that’s the next bit. For us we’ll be seeing you guys in probably two days time as planned,” Harry said, according to CNN and CBS.
He said the birth of his son was “amazing” and he was “over the moon.”
“I haven’t been at many births. This is definitely my first birth. It was amazing…. I’m so incredibly proud of my wife. As every father and parent would ever say, your baby is absolutely amazing. This little thing is absolutely to die for. So I’m just over the moon.”
Prince Harry says wife Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and baby boy are doing "incredibly well." He added, "It has been the most amazing experience I could ever possibly imagine. " https://t.co/aAwPRaA2CB pic.twitter.com/YQCwa2ytUo
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 6, 2019
The birth statement came about an hour after the palace said Meghan, 37, had gone into labor in the early hours of Monday with Harry by her side.
But we aren’t likely to know officially where the baby was born – possibly at home at Frogmore Cottage at Windsor – or see the family together for at least a while. Harry, 34, and Meghan announced last month they intend to keep the birth private initially.
The baby is Queen Elizabeth II’s eighth great-grandchild, seventh in line to the throne, and the first American, mixed-race baby ever born into the royal family.
It is unlikely the child will have a title of “Royal Highness” under current rules regarding such matters, unless the queen chooses to intervene.
It is possible the baby was born at Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Castle estate, Harry and Meghan’s newly renovated home. If so, this would be the first royal at-home birth since the queen delivered her four children at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House between 1948 and 1964. Prior to 1977, when the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, delivered her first child at St. Mary’s Hospital in London, all senior royal births took place outside a hospital.
In April, following weeks of conflicting media reports about where the baby would be born and under what circumstances, Buckingham Palace (where Harry and Meghan’s new office is based) announced that the couple had made “a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private.
“The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
So, for this royal birth there was no media mob waiting outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London, where Duchess Kate of Cambridge’s three children in the last six years were born.
Instead, the couple are expected to appear with the baby to pose for a small pool of photographers on the Windsor Castle grounds in a few days.
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