On Friday, May 17th, 2019, Baby Sussex’s birth certificate was publicly released by the Daily Mail’s Rebecca English on Twitter – and it revealed a rather surprising answer for Meghan Markle’s royal occupation.
As expected, the birth certificate lists the former Suits star’s name and title as, quote, “Rachel Meghan Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.”
But English noticed something rather curious about the document, tweeting that
“Meghan is listed as a Princess of the United Kingdom – just like Kate [Middleton].”
Wait, what? Well, before you start running around and calling her “Princess Meghan,” please note that Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton aren’t technically princesses.
Back in 2018, shortly after Prince Williams and Kate Middleton welcomed their third child Prince Louis, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told Yahoo!:
“William is [His Royal Highness] Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and so Kate, as his wife, is [Her Royal Highness] The Duchess of Cambridge.”
Viewers will probably recall that Prince Louis’s birth certificate also listed mom Kate Middleton as a princess under “occupation.”
As Fitzwilliams explained:
“If you marry a prince you become a princess. Louis’ birth certificate would naturally reflect this.”
When they married into the British royal family, Duchess Meghan and Duchess Kate simply received the female versions of the titles that have long been held by their husbands, according to AOL. That means they’ll both continue going by the royal title of “duchess,” thank you very much.
Prince Harry and Dutchess Meghan welcomed baby Archie at 5:26 a.m. local time on May 6, 2019. At the time of his birth, he weighed in at 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and he made his official public debut just two days later.
Since the royal couple likes to keep their baby preparations largely under wraps, there were rumors of a home birth at Frogmore Cottage. Earlier this year, a source told Us Weekly that Harry and Meghan were hoping to avoid the media circus that surrounded the arrival of Kate Middleton and Prince William’s third child last year. The insider claimed:
“It will be much less chaos and more of a private event than if she gives birth in London [at St. Mary’s Hospital] like Kate did.”
But the recent release of Archie’s birth certificate dispelled that speculation once and for all. According to the document, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first child was delivered at Portland Hospital in Westminster, England. So there.
Of course, it simply wouldn’t be royal family news without a bit of drama. After months of rumors surrounding an alleged feud between the Sussexes and the Cambridges, Prince William and Duchess Kate reportedly didn’t meet their newborn nephew until more than a week after his birth. According to royal expert Dr. Anna Whitelock, the delay possibly had something to do with Prince Harry and Dutchess Meghan’s surge in popularity over the last year and a half.
In the CBS special Meghan and Harry Plus One, she said:
“Before very long Prince William and Kate will be Prince and Princess of Wales. Harry and Meghan sort of undermining and challenging their popularity and status may just be a little bit too much.”
May 2019 didn’t just mark the birth of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first child. They also enjoyed their first wedding anniversary on Sunday, May 19th. Viewers will undoubtedly remember that they tied the knot at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. To celebrate the occasion, the royal couple shared a number of new, behind-the-scenes wedding snapshots on Instagram. They paired the photos with a heartfelt message to their followers:
“Thank you for all of the love and support from so many of you around the world. Each of you made this day even more meaningful.”
Congratulations once again to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on the arrival of baby Archie and their anniversary!
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