With the publication of his autobiography, Spare, Prince Harry has captured the world’s attention.
He also spoke at length about his upbringing, including the death of his mother, Princess Diana, and his service in the army.
Harry also revealed additional details about his family with Meghan Markle, including information about their firstborn child, Archie.
Although Harry and Meghan clearly like the spotlight, they have thus far ensured that their children have a more sheltered upbringing. As a result, we haven’t seen much of Archie or his sister, Lilibet.
Nonetheless, during the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary, which aired in December, Harry and Meghan revealed numerous private moments with their children.
In Spare, Harry revealed additional details about his personal life. Interestingly, this includes what he did while Meghan was giving birth to Archie… he reportedly got high!
Harry was “obsessed” with protecting Archie from reporters.
Meghan Markle was already a well-known name because to her appearance in the television series Suit, so the news that she would be joining the British Royal Family made quite a stir.
Archie, Harry and Meghan’s son, was born on May 6, 2019, at The Portland Hospital in London. It was a momentous occasion, as with the birth of any royal child, but Harry and Meghan took a different approach.
According to royal analyst Katie Nicholl, Harry was apparently preoccupied with not disclosing any details of his son’s birth to the media.
However, because millions of followers and the majority of the public were eager to learn more about the young child, the desire for concealment was dismissed as a breach of 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.
“I had been really worried going into that labor”
Because Prince William, Harry, and William’s children were all born at St Mary’s Hospital, the traditional first baby portraits were shot there as well.
“Harry had always enjoyed outfoxing the media,” Nicholl wrote in his book The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Crown’s Future.
“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.”
Meghan revealed in their Netflix documentary series that she was worried about what might happen on the day her baby boy was delivered.
However, two days later, Harry and Meghan agreed to take part in a brief picture session during which one reporter was allowed to ask questions.
Despite the fact that everything was in order, it turned out that their stay in the hospital had been extremely dramatic. At least for Harry, as revealed in his new book, Spare.
Harry. & Meghan alleged royal concern about Archie’s skin color.
Archie was embroiled in a major conflict inside the Royal Family before he could even speak or walk. It all started with the iconic Oprah Winfrey interview, in which his mother, Meghan, spoke honestly about her time and difficulties living in the UK.
She provided other details concerning the Firm, including the fact that then-Prince Charles refused to answer Harry’s phone calls.
The most stunning portion, though, was Meghan’s accusation that discussions had taken place within the palace about how black Archie’s complexion would be before his birth.
“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.”
Archie had already arrived by the time Harry and Meghan’s royal duties formally concluded on March 31, 2020. After the arrival of their daughter, Lilibet, in 2021, the family has grown to four members.
Harry and Meghan gave an intimate peek into their family life at their home in Montecito, California, in the first episode of the Netflix documentary. Their house has been dubbed “Fort Knox,” and security is appropriately tight.
Never-before seen photos of Archie and Lilibet in Netflix series
For the first time, Harry and Meghan opened their estate to royal fans all around the world through the documentary. Viewers discovered Archie and Lilibet there.
Harry and Meghan have been exceedingly private about their children’s public appearances. Archie and Lilibet have only shown in a few photographs, but the public has finally received a better look at them.
Though the documentary has more serious content, three-year-old Archie steals the show by appearing many times. Not only that, but for the first time, viewers heard him talk.
Meghan captured Prince Harry birding with Archie from the patio of their Montecito estate in one sweet scene.
Meghan was also observing hummingbirds near their home, and Harry, a passionate bird watcher, advised his son to stay quiet and simply listen to the sounds of nature.
“We won’t get a chance to be this close to hummingbirds ever again,” Harry told Archie.
Archie, who was only three years old at the time, did the exact opposite. He became quite boisterous just moments after his father told him to remain quiet.
“You’ve got a dirty foot, sweetheart,” Meghan replied. “Papa is a birdwatcher so this is a really big moment for him.”
Diana’s image was shown to their son.
Another photo of the royal pair shows Harry cuddling up with Archie, who is dressed in a knitted hooded sweater with bear ears, beneath an umbrella.
More photographs follow, including one of Archie and Meghan feeding their chickens and another from Archie’s birthday party, in which Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, appears.
We all know that the late Princess Diana was a pivotal role in the Royal Family, particularly for her kids, William and Harry. Harry has already spoken about his mother, even comparing Meghan to her in terms of media scrutiny.
Diana also played a minor role in the Netflix documentary, and not simply through Harry’s memories of her. Meghan may be seen carrying Archie in front of a picture of Diana while explaining who she is in a painful scene.
In other touching photos from the documentary, Archie was seen resting on Meghan’s baby tummy while she was pregnant with Lilibet. But the cutest image of all is one of Archie in a blue hat and blue Crocs, sitting on Harry’s shoulder in a beautiful father-son moment.
The documentary also contained another short footage of Archie. It shows a lovely sunset from the Sussexes’ patio as Meghan inquires about Archie’s thoughts.
“Well, it’s all done, beautiful,” he answered.
Archie has a strong American accent.
The fact that Archie is talking may not surprise you. Many fans, however, were offended by the tone of Archie’s speech.
Because he’s lived in the US for a while, the small youngster has developed an American accent, which fans couldn’t help but notice.
“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.
However, there have been reports of youngsters residing in the United States who had family in the United Kingdom switching accents when traveling over the Atlantic.
“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 of language acquisition at Boston University, noted.
Archie’s birth details are revealed by Harry.
While Harry and Meghan are busy raising their children and coordinating other career-related endeavors, the beginning of their parenthood was fairly dramatic, at least for Harry.
In his book, Spare, Harry chastised numerous family members and highlighted other areas of his life, such as the day his mother, Princess Diana, died in a fatal vehicle accident.
Having said that, the Prince did bring back some more pleasant memories.
Harry reported the unusual incident at Portland Hospital where he chose to get high on laughing gas to calm himself down in Spare.
“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 revealed that a nurse had tried to give the gas to his wife for the pain, but he had already swallowed it all.
“I could see the thought slowly dawning. Gracious, the husband’s had it all. ‘Sorry,” I said meekly.’”
Doctors eventually opted to give Meghan an epidural to relieve her agony.
“The anesthetist hurried in. Off went the music, on went the lights. Whoa. Vibe change.”
Despite initial concerns that Archie had become entangled in his umbilical cord, he emerged unscathed, bringing both Harry and Meghan to tears.