There was considerable confusion at the time of the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
And Harry reveals how the couple successfully managed to keep their arrival private in his memoir Spare, which was reissued in paperback last month.
As Meghan was a week past her due date in May 2019, the couple secretly visited Portland Hospital to “make sure nothing was wrong,” although they were well prepared for Archie’s arrival.
“We hopped into a nondescript minivan and crept away from Frogmore without alerting any of the journalists stationed at the gates,” Harry writes.
Two hours after the birth, the couple had returned to Frogmore Cottage without raising suspicions.
There was considerable confusion surrounding the arrival of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, on May 6, 2019.
Her doctor decided it was time to induce labor and Meghan was given a canister of laughing gas to help ease the process.
Meanwhile, Harry, who had ordered Nando through his bodyguards, was hit by the gas intended for his wife.
‘I received several slow, penetrating blows. Meg, jumping on a giant purple ball, a tried-and-true way to give nature a boost, laughed and rolled her eyes.
“I took several more hits and now I was bouncing too,” Harry reveals.
‘When her contractions started to quicken and deepen, a nurse came and tried to give Meg some laughing gas. There were none left. The nurse looked at the tank, she looked at me, and I could see that little by little the thought was emerging: My God, the husband has everything.
Fortunately, the nurse saw the humor in the situation and replaced the container for Meghan.
The Duchess settled into the bathroom and immersed herself in the soothing sounds of Deva Premal’s Sanskrit mantras, which had been remixed into hymns.
Harry set the mood by placing electric candles, the same ones he had used during his proposal to Meghan, around the room.
Among the items in her travel bag was a framed photograph of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.
He noted in his memoirs that this touching tribute was Meghan’s idea.
Since Meghan was a week past her due date, she and Harry secretly visited Portland Hospital to “make sure nothing happened,” although they were well prepared for Archie’s arrival (pictured in 2019) .
Two hours after the birth, the couple had returned to Frogmore Cottage without arousing any suspicion (pictured in 2019).
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry reveals that he inhaled most of Meghan’s laughing gas and the canister had to be replaced (pictured in 2019).
Meghan gave birth to her first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, at Portland Hospital on May 6, 2019.
Following tradition, Buckingham Palace announced Archie’s birth the next day.
Two hours after the birth, Harry and Meghan had returned to Frogmore Cottage without arousing suspicion.
A few hours later, Harry spoke to reporters in Windsor to reveal his son’s name.
Harry’s explosive memoir Spare was reissued in paperback this week
Despite Meghan’s efforts to breathe through the discomfort, the intensity became overwhelming and she eventually had to receive two epidurals.
“The anesthetist ran in. The music went off and the lights came on,” Harry writes.
There was a brief moment of concern when it was discovered that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby, but soon afterward their healthy son was born.
Harry reflects on this experience in his book, offering an intimate insight into his journey during childbirth.
“A nurse wrapped the baby in a towel and placed him on Meg’s chest and we both cried seeing him, meeting him,” she says.
‘Our Ayurvedic doctor had advised us that in the first minute of life, a baby absorbs everything that is told to it. So whisper to the baby, tell him your wish for him, your love. Say.
“We said it.”
Two hours after Meghan gave birth, she and Harry had returned to Frogmore Cottage.
Only then was it announced that Meghan would go into labor, causing a disagreement between the prince and his communications chief, Sara Latham.
I had a fight with Sara about it. You know she’s not in labor anymore, I said.
‘He explained that the press must be given the dramatic and suspenseful story they demand.
“But it’s not true,” I said.
The couple’s quick return home and the timing of the announcement sparked significant media attention and speculation surrounding Archie’s birth.
A few hours later, Harry spoke to reporters outside the Windsor stables to reveal his son’s name.
‘The newspapers were outraged. “They said we had deceived them,” he writes.
“Indeed we did.”