Prince Harry was reportedly captivated by hiding details surrounding the birth of son Archie.
“A source described Harry as ‘almost morbidly obsessed’ with keeping Archie’s birth as secret as possible,” writes royal expert Katie Nicholl in her new book, “The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown.”
This quest for secrecy reportedly violated an “unwritten contract between the royals and the public,” who were eager and expecting to hear all the details about the new royal baby once Meghan Markle gave birth.
“Behind the scenes things were so fraught that more than one official – as I know from personal experience – was reduced to tears of frustration and despair,” added Rebecca English, royal editor of the Daily Mail.
The usual protocol after a royal birth is for the father, mother and newborn baby to pose on the steps of the hospital, surrounded by benefactors and photographers, and answer a few questions before driving off.
But according to Nicholl, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to change that.
When Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on May 6, 2019, the couple managed to mislead the press when he actually arrived.
“Harry always liked to outsmart the media,” Nicholl writes. “He and Meghan were delighted to see their son delivered safely at the private hospital in Portland, London, even before the palace’s press service confirmed that the Duchess was in labour.”
Two days later, the couple took part in a short photo opportunity with a single reporter to ask questions.
“But it all felt staged, with pre-approved questions, one journalist and one photographer,” Nicholl continues. “It showed the growing gap between Harry’s public expectations and what he felt obligated to give.”
The “Suits” alum looked tired and uncomfortable at the time. Similarly, Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton, also confessed to finding the post-natal photo shoots difficult, with Nicholl writing that the Princess of Wales “aggot because one day she’ll be queen and the mother of a king, so there was a justified common interest.”
In addition, Markle, 41, and Harry, 38, also had a private christening and declined to release the names of Archie’s godparents.
Nicholl notes, however, that while the Sussexes have “served an ace in their quest for privacy and ripped a new page from the royal notebook”, they also question the Crown’s relationship with “the press, broadcasters and by extension the public, who felt cheated by the experience—whether that was a fair expectation or not.”