Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have welcomed their first child, a boy, the first interracial baby in the British monarchy’s recent history. Live news coverage of the event has been a bit subdued in the UK, with news channels, including Sky News and BBC News covering live, but main networks sticking to their regular schedules.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement that Markle gave birth at 5:26 a.m.. Hours before the official birth announcement, the palace announced that Markle was in labor, and that her mother, Doria Ragland, was with the new parents.
In U.S., news outlets jumped in to report “It’s a Boy” of the healthy 7-pound newborn who will be seventh line to the throne and will be a join UK/US national.
But, because of the couple’s decision to NOT trot the newborn out virtually immediately, per recent tradition, most moved on to other reports in the very busy Monday morning news cycle.
Instead of the immediate baby-unveiling, Prince Harry came out to at least give something to the crowd of camped-out reporters, telling them “mother and baby are doing incredibly well” and calling it “the most amazing experience I could ever possibly imagine.”
“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension,” Harry said, endearing him to millions of women.
“I haven’t been at many births so this definitely was my first. I’m so proud of my wife. As every father and parent would ever say, they’re baby is absolutely amazing – but this little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m over the moon,” he said, giving them their headline.
“We’re both absolutely thrilled, and so grateful for the support of everybody out there.”
Asked by a reporter desperate for copy what will be the baby’s name, Harry played coy, saying they were “still thinking about names,” explaining the baby was “overdue so we’ve had time to think about it.” He promised they would get to see the baby in days, “as planned.”
The BBC posted a live stream with updates as the morning progressed.
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