The newest member of the royal family finally has a name. Today it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor," reads a statement shared on their Instagram account. "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." This content is imported from Instagram. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The royal baby was born early Monday morning, but in keeping with royal tradition, Meghan and Harry waited a few days to announce their baby's name. When Prince Harry addressed the press following his son's birth he shared that they were "still thinking about names." "The baby’s little bit overdue so we’ve had some time to think about it," he revealed. "But that’s the next bit." According to royals commentator Victoria Murphy, there are two main reasons why royals wait to release their babies' names. "On one hand there's a desire to inform the families before a public declaration is made and any new parent appreciates having a little private time to get to know their new addition before the onslaught of announcements," she previously told Town & Country, in advance of Prince Louis's birth last year. "Royals, however, also have to consider the great responsibility in naming a new member of the family and I expect they want to be a hundred percent certain of their choice before announcing the name and sealing the baby's place in history." Harry is following in his brother Prince William's footsteps in keeping with this tradition. When Prince Louis was born last year, William and Kate waited four days before sharing his name publicly. Similarly, they took two days to share the names of both their older children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, with the public. Back in 1982, Charles and Diana waited a week to announce Prince William's name, and Prince Charles's name was a mystery for about a month when he was born in 1948. Caroline Hallemann Digital News Director As the digital news director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers everything from the British royal family to the latest episodes of Outlander, Killing Eve, and The Crown. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have finally announced the name of their baby boy, and although he doesn't have a royal title, he does have a last name. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first born is named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor and his surname is a nod to his great-grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Below, we break down what it all means. Why Archie Has a Last Name According to the royal family's official website: "For the most part, members of the Royal Family who are entitled to the style and dignity of HRH [His/Her Royal Highness] Prince or Princess do not need a surname, but if at any time any of them do need a surname (such as upon marriage), that surname is Mountbatten-Windsor." This rightfully applies to Archie, who does not have a prince or princess title, or any royal title at all. However, the names of his Cambridge cousins are styled differently. Prince Louis's full name, for example, is His Royal Highness Prince Louis Arthur Charles of Cambridge on his birth certificate—with no last name. Prince George and Princess Charlotte's names are formatted the same way. Unlike royal baby Archie, Prince Louis, who was born in April 2018, does not have a last name. Chris Jackson Getty Images The History Behind Royal Surnames The British royal family didn't always have a surname. According to their website, their ancestors used to take the names of their father's houses. For example, Edward VII was of his father Prince Albert's house, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. But in 1917, King George V (Queen Elizabeth II's grandfather) adopted Windsor as the official last name for all descendants of Queen Victoria (his grandmother). Queen Elizabeth II confirmed Windsor as the family surname when she ascended the throne in 1952, but in 1960, she and her husband Prince Philip (née Philip Mountbatten) wanted to differentiate their descendants from the rest of the royal lineage by giving them the last name Mountbatten-Windsor. The decision was confirmed by the Privy Council. "The effect of the declaration was that all The Queen's children, on occasions when they needed a surname, would have the surname Mountbatten-Windsor," the royal family's website reads. King George V and Queen Mary circa 1910. Culture Club Getty Images Where Mountbatten Came From Prince Philip's last name Mountbatten has it's own interesting history. His official bio says: "During the First World War Prince Louis of Battenberg, Prince Philip's grandfather, changed the family's name to Mountbatten. Prince Phillip adopted this name when he also became a naturalised British subject and renounced his Royal title in order to marry Princess Elizabeth. Upon his marriage Prince Phillip was bestowed with the titles Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Merioneth, and Baron Greenwich." Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip on their wedding day in 1947. Hulton Deutsch Getty Images Changes Could Be Made in the Future If Harry and Meghan have any additional children and choose to not give them royal titles either, they'll also have the last name Mountbatten-Windsor. However, future descendants of Prince Charles, who is second in line for the throne, could have a different last name if he decides to make changes when he becomes king. The declaration of the Mountbatten-Windsor name also isn't statutory, according to the royal family, which means it "does not pass into the law of the land" and is not binding for future monarchs. The royals' site adds, "Unless The Prince of Wales chooses to alter the present decisions when he becomes king, he will continue to be of the House of Windsor and his grandchildren will use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor." This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>The decision by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to call their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor came as a surprise to many. The forenames are far from traditional for the royal family, which may be exactly why the couple, anxious for their son to have as normal an upbringing as possible, chose them. While there are courtesy titles they could have used, such as the Earl of Dumbarton, they have chosen not to do so for now, according to palace sources. The name Archie – a shortened version of Archibald, which is of German origin and means “genuine”, “bold” and “brave” – has become increasingly popular. According to the Office for National Statistics, it was the 18th most popular in the UK in 2017, while Harrison came in at 34th. The name is probably most familiar to Americans as that of the red-haired lead character in Archie Comics, which have been on US news stands for years and inspired the recent spinoff TV series Riverdale. The TV historian Prof Kate Williams speculated that the choice of Archie may have been inspired by figures such as the South African intellectual and anthropologist Archie Mafeje, the R&B singer Archie Bell or the saxophonist Archie Shepp. “And Harrison, of course, means ‘son of Harry’, which is very sweet,” she tweeted. 01:41 First glimpse of Duke and Duchess of Sussex's baby boy – video Archie was never the bookmakers’ favourite. Alex Apati, of Ladbrokes, said just £100 was staked on the name. It could be a popular choice with the baby’s cousin Prince George, however. The five-year-old son of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge was said to have told a dog walker his name was Archie while out with his grandmother Carole Middleton, Hello magazine reported in January, leading to speculation it might be a nickname. Mountbatten-Windsor has only been the family name of the royals since the 60s. It is a legacy of the Duke of Edinburgh’s deep-rooted desire for his descendants to bear his family name, and a decision made in the face of anti-German sentiment during the first world war. For a newly married Prince Philip, passing his name on was a matter of great importance, and it brought him and the Queen into conflict with Winston Churchill’s government. Born Prince Philip of Greece, on his British naturalisation he adopted the surname of his ambitious uncle Louis Mountbatten, who believed it would endear his foreign-sounding nephew to the British nation. Mountbatten itself was an anglicised version of the German Battenberg, Philip’s mother’s family name. The Queen, meanwhile, was a Windsor. Her grandfather, George V, had changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha to the bland, more acceptable sounding Windsor, after the castle. When the Queen took the throne, the question of what the royal family and its descendants should be called taxed the finest brains. Churchill’s cabinet put pressure on the Queen to ignore Philip’s paternity amid frenzied speculation that their first-born, Charles, would become the first king in the House of Mountbatten. An angered Philip complained to friends: “Am I the only man in the country not allowed to give his name to his children?” Sympathetic to her husband, the Queen found herself caught in the crossfire. She was initially persuaded to give her formal approval to a proclamation in April 1952 that she and her descendants “should continue to bear the family name of Windsor”. It was not until 1960, and the imminent birth of her third child, Prince Andrew, that the Queen told a meeting of the privy council that she had decided her descendants – other than her children, or those entitled to use the HRH style, or the descendants of female family members who marry – would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.<doc-sep>
Just a few days after he was born, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's new royal baby finally has a name: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The happy couple shared their son's name publicly on social media this afternoon to the excitement of royal fans everywhere. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce they have named their first born child: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor," reads the announcement on Instagram. "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.." As royals commentator Victoria Arbiter told T&C last year in advance of Prince Louis's birth, it is something of a tradition for members of the royal family to delay in sharing their children's names publicly for multiple reasons. "On one hand there's a desire to inform the families before a public declaration is made and any new parent appreciates having a little private time to get to know their new addition before the onslaught of announcements," she said via email. "Royals, however, also have to consider the great responsibility in naming a new member of the family and I expect they want to be a hundred percent certain of their choice before announcing the name and sealing the baby's place in history." But now that we know the youngster's name, what is it's meaning? Here, we break it down: Archie Archie is sometimes a nickname for Archibald, but not in this case! The name means genuine and bold or brave, according to the baby name site Baby Centre, and a royal source has revealed to CNN that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose it because they "just liked the name Archie." A royal source explains Meghan and Harry's name choice to @MaxFosterCNN: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex "just liked the name Archie," and Harrison was chosen to mean "son of Harry" https://t.co/F2UE8QsHOI pic.twitter.com/6xpW5QJ2eG — CNN (@CNN) May 8, 2019 Harrison In a nod to the child's father, Prince Harry, Harrison means son of Harry or son of Henry, making it the perfect middle name for the royal baby. One of the first photos of the family of three! WPA Pool Getty Images The Surname, Mountbatten-Windsor Meghan and Harry's baby will use the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, as is one of several options available to the child. Prior to today's announcement, some had predicted he might use the surname Sussex, as Prince George uses the surname Cambridge at school or Prince Harry used the surname Wales in the military, but it seems as though Meghan and Harry chose to go a different way. The Title Shortly following the announcement of the royal baby's name, reporter Rebecca English confirmed that the royal baby will not have a title. I’ve had it confirmed Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor will have no title. He will simply be Master Archie.. #Archie #Royalbaby — Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) May 8, 2019 Her fellow royal reporter Victoria Murphy also noted that "it's worth remembering that when Prince Charles becomes King, Archie will be eligible to be styled as a Prince should Harry and Meghan wish this." Caroline Hallemann Digital News Director As the digital news director for Town & Country, Caroline Hallemann covers everything from the British royal family to the latest episodes of Outlander, Killing Eve, and The Crown.