Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (aka the Duke and Duchess of Sussex) have received non-stop attention since announcing stepping out with their baby son for the first time on 8 May. 

And now the royal couple have confirmed that they have determined to name their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

Sharing a photo of baby Archie meeting Queen Elizabeth II on Instagram, they captioned the shot: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor

“This afternoon Their Royal Highnesses introduced Her Majesty The Queen to her eighth great-grandchild at Windsor Castle. The Duke of Edinburgh and The Duchess’ mother were also present for this special occasion.”

The name Archie is a Scottish moniker meaning ‘true and bold’. Harrison, aptly, means meaning “son of Henry” or “son of Harry.” And Mountbatten? Well, the Mountbatten family is a European dynasty originating as a cadet branch of the German princely Battenberg family, and the name was adopted during World War I by family members residing in the United Kingdom due to rising anti-German sentiment among the British public.

Describing motherhood as “magic”, Meghan said: “It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy. [Our son] has the sweetest temperament, he’s really calm.”

It was at this point that Harry joked: “I don’t know who he gets that from.”

Meghan added: “He’s just been the dream so it’s been a special couple of days.”

When asked who the baby takes after, Meghan said: “We’re still trying to figure that out.”

Harry said: “Everyone says that babies change so much over two weeks we’re basically monitoring how the changing process happens over this next month really.

“But his looks are changing every single day, so who knows.”

The royal couple confirmed that two had become three on 6 May when the first announced that little Baby Sussex has finally arrived.

“It’s a boy!” read the official announcement, which was shared on the couple’s Sussex Royal Instagram account. “We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019. Their Royal Highnesses’ son weighs 7lbs. 3oz.

“The Duchess and baby are both healthy and well, and the couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives.”

A caption on the photo added that the couple were “overjoyed”.

Appearing outside Windsor Castle this afternoon, a beaming Prince Harry said his son was “to-die-for”, adding “I’m so incredibly proud of my wife”.

Buckingham Palace confirmed that Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, was by her daughter’s side at the couple’s Windsor home, Frogmore Cottage.

She, along with senior members of the Royal Family, were “overjoyed” and “delighted” by the news, the palace said.

It makes sense that the royal couple chose to announce the birth of their baby via Instagram, after they previously outlined their plans to keep things as intimate (and private) as possible.

“[Meghan and Harry] have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private,” read a previous statement.

“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.”

Explaining why Baby Sussex’s arrival is so important to the UK and the world, Rachelle Pouplier writes in her Stylist essay: “This is so important for any biracial child growing up in a predominantly white society. My only black female role model as a little girl was my mother. Everyone else around me was white and, like most girls of dual ethnicity, I experienced a wide spectrum of discrimination, ranging from ignorance to blatant racism. Other children made fun of my frizzy hair and supposedly “dirty looking” skin, telling me I should go back to Africa. It was my mother who told me that I was perfect the way I was; society did not.

“For a black, Asian, Hispanic or biracial child it can be hard growing up in a place where most role models are white. Dolls and other toys are white, Disney princesses are white, fictional heroines in books and movies are white. Only recently have there been efforts to work against those stereotypes, but they are still rare. I mean, just look at Game of Thrones, where only the slaves are black. It is about time that society affirms all its children. Visible diversity at the highest level of society is key.”

Pouplier adds: “It signals to a younger generation that everyone is (or at least should be) welcome in this society”

Meghan and Harry’s newborn boy is significantly lower down on the line of succession than his cousins. In fact, the new baby is seventh in line to the British throne, behind Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, and Prince Harry.

However, that doesn’t mean Baby Sussex won’t be living the royal life: far from it. Indeed, according to multiple reports, Harry and Meghan are planning to take their newborn on a tour of Africa sometime this autumn, making them one of the youngest royals ever to go on an official tour.

“As it stands the plan is that Harry and Meghan and their newborn baby, in probably about six months, will take a trip to Africa and tour several countries in Africa,” Royah Nikkhah, royal correspondent for The Sunday Times, told Good Morning America. “And around October time probably visit two or three different Commonwealth nations which are of course the nations in Africa that have a close relationship with the U.K.”

Nikkhah added that the exact countries the royals will visit have yet to be decided, however, they will be carefully chosen as “the tour will be on behalf of the government.”

The trip has yet to be officially confirmed by the Palace, who recently issued a statement saying: “Any future plans for The Duke and Duchess are speculative at his stage. No decisions have been taken about future roles,” the statement said. “The Duke will continue to fulfill his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.”

However, it makes sense that Harry and Meghan would want to take their newborn to Africa, as, after all, the royal couple famously fell in love during a trip to Botswana.

“I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars,” Harry said in his post-engagement interview with Meghan. “She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic, so then we were really by ourselves, which I think was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other.”

Harry also included Africa in Meghan’s engagement ring (the main stone in Meghan’s ring is sourced from Botswana, while the diamonds surrounding it are from the jewelry collection of Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana), and the pair honeymooned in East Africa following their star-studded royal wedding.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that Meghan planned to gift her baby a Cartier Tank Franchise watch, which she bought for herself when she was working as an actor on Suits.

“I’ve always coveted the Cartier French Tank watch. When I found out Suits had been picked up for our third season – which, at the time, felt like such a milestone – I totally splurged and bought the two-tone version,” she said.

“I had it engraved on the back, ‘To M.M. From M.M.’ and I plan to give it to my daughter one day.

“That’s what makes pieces special, the connection you have to them.”

Meghan previously expressed her hope that Baby Sussex would grow up to be a feminist.

Appearing at a panel event for International Women’s Day earlier this year, she told the audience: “I’ve seen this documentary on Netflix on feminism and one of the things they said during pregnancy was, ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism.’

“I love that. So boy or girl or whatever it is, we hope that that’s the case, our little bump.”

Image: Getty