Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex are seen with their baby son during a photocall in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle, in Berkshire, Britain.- Reuters
The choice of words in the tweet by Buckingham Palace (Twitter handle: @RoyalFamily) to announce the royal arrival was nothing short of majestic.
Published: Thu 9 May 2019, 7:34 PM
- By
- Vicky Kapur (From the Executive Editor's Desk)
Unless you've been living under a rock these past few days, you'd know that the world is now richer by a royal baby boy, born on May 6 to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. And that the baby boy was born to their royal highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at 0526 hours British Standard Time, weighing 7lbs 3oz (3.2kg). It's another thing that the Press Release from Buckingham Palace forewarning the birth of the child and announcing that the Duchess had gone into labour was issued much later than 05:26 BST, but then that was probably in keeping with the British protocol.
The choice of words in the tweet by Buckingham Palace (Twitter handle: @RoyalFamily) to announce the royal arrival was nothing short of majestic. "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex was safely delivered of a son at 0526hrs. The baby weighs 7lbs 3oz and The Duke of Sussex was present for the birth." If that doesn't tell you that the boy thus born is seventh-in-line to the British throne, then probably nothing will.
But you must also know this: the Sussexes broke royal protocol with the royal baby's home-birth, in Frogmore House - the couple's Windsor abode - and not the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital, which has been the traditional birthing locale for expecting British royals since 1982, when Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William there. In another departure from protocol, the couple announced the birth of the baby on social media (Instagram handle: sussexroyal) by posting a platform-suitable e-card that said 'It's a Boy!' hours before the traditional ceremonial easel was placed in front of the Buckingham Palace to let the royal subjects know of the prince's arrival.
The contrast in the two announcements - an antiquated phrase Vs a colloquial expression - brings to fore the diversity of the royal marriage between a British prince and a Hollywood star. It's this contradiction that is telling of the things to come. Welcome to this world, Baby boy Sussex. Why am I calling him Baby boy Sussex? Because Archie Harrison Mountbatton-Windsor is a mouthful. How was the name first announced to the world? In an Instagram post, of course.