From keeping their birth plans private to announcing the arrival of their son on Instagram, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, bucked tradition to welcome their firstborn exactly how they wanted. Instead of the post-birth hospital photo-op customary to the royal family, Harry and Meghan brought Baby Sussex to St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle for a photo shoot and short interview on Wednesday, May 8. Truly, the pictures are too sweet for words. His little face! Their smiles! Their joy is overwhelming in the best way. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex present Baby Sussex to the world on May 8, 2019 in St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle. Press Association By contrast, Harry's brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, debuted all three of their children to the world within 24 hours of their birth. As William is second in line to the throne (after his father, Prince Charles), the Cambridges are required to adhere to royal tradition in a way the Sussexes are not. For Prince Louis's birth on April 23, 2018, William and Kate posed with their (then-unnamed) newborn on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, just six-and-a-half hours after his birth. The Duchess wore red Jenny Packham for the occasion, the same designer she wore for photos with Princess Charlotte in 2015 and Prince George in 2013. Prince William and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge pose with their newborn son at the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London on April 23, 2018. Chris Jackson Getty Images For Charlotte's birth, William and Kate posed for photos and left the hospital around seven hours after her birth, but for George's, the couple waited until the day after the duchess delivered to present the future heir to the throne to the world. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge debut Prince George on the steps of the Lindo Wing on July 23, 2013 (left) and Princess Charlotte on May, 2 2015. Getty Images Regardless of how they chose to introduce their children to the world, one thing is certain—the royal family produces some very cute children. 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>We know Harry and Meghan value their privacy. Before she gave birth, they said they were looking forward to "an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family."<doc-sep>Royal watchers, get ready for the best sight you’ll see all year: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor! The newest member of Britain’s royal family arrived Monday, but proud parents Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, waited until Wednesday to give an eager public its first look at their son. The family of three gathered in St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, near their new home, and posed for the baby’s first press pics — and they’re absolutely precious. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex with their baby son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. “It’s magic. It’s pretty amazing,” the duchess said as her husband cradled their baby son. “I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy.” Download the TODAY app for all the latest royal baby news. In addition to giving the world a glimpse of the new royal, the couple went on to officially announce Archie’s name via an Instagram post — a photo of the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, meeting the baby boy along with Doria Ragland, the Duchess of Sussex’s mother. The beaming parents gushed about their first child as they spoke to the press Wednesday. “He’s really calm,” Meghan said, prompting Prince Harry to joke, “I wonder who he gets that from?” Baby Archie! She continued by saying she couldn’t ask for a better baby. “He’s just been the dream, so it’s been a special couple of days,” she said. So sweet! Dominic Lipinski / AFP / Getty Images Asked who the baby takes after, Harry noted it’s too early to tell. “Everyone says babies change so much over two weeks,” he told reporters gathered at Windsor Castle. “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?” Still appearing giddy over the birth, Harry admitted he’s getting used to his new role as a father. What a difference a year makes! The Duke and Duchess of Sussex at their May 2018 royal wedding and posing with their baby son in May 2019. Getty images file “We’re still trying to figure it out,” he said, adding, “Parenting is amazing. It’s only been — what, two and half days, three days? We’re just so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy.” The duke and duchess also released photos of the event on their new Instagram account, expressing delight in sharing “their first public moment as a family” and gratitude for “the warm wishes and support they’ve received from everyone around the world” since welcoming their son. The post included two black-and-white images, including one showing Meghan’s arm draped around her husband’s back after their meeting with the press. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave with their son, following a photo-call inside Windsor Castle. sussexroyal/Instagram The shots of the first-time mom and dad beaming alongside their baby boy are a welcome treat, and one that their many global fans have waited for — a little longer than usual. How cute are Harry & Meghan?! 😍🥰👶 pic.twitter.com/eSbyX4Ta9U — TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 8, 2019 As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex revealed before their son’s birth, they decided to forgo the typical press photo op held outside a hospital shortly after a royal wee one is welcomed to the world. Members of the royal family have long opted to give the media a quick look at their babies before leaving the hospital — sometimes just hours after birth. That was the case following all three deliveries for Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. Each time, she and Prince William posed with their children — Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 1 — outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital. Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, pose outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary's Hospital in London following the births of their children, Prince George (2013), Princess Charlotte (2015) and Prince Louis (2018). Getty Images Even Prince Harry’s own parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, participated in the practice. But in a break with that longstanding royal tradition, the Sussexes chose personal privacy over protocol. Diana, Princess of Wales, and Prince Charles with newborn Prince Harry, leave St. Mary's Hospital on Sept. 16, 1984, in Paddington, London. Getty Images “Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private,” a statement released by Buckingham Palace prior to the recent birth read. “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.” Hours after their son’s birth in the early hours of Monday morning, Prince Harry surprised reporters gathered on the grounds of Windsor Castle and shared his joy. “It was amazing — absolutely incredible,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud of my wife. As every father and parent would ever say, your baby is absolutely amazing, but this little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m just over the moon.” He added an assurance that the entire Sussex family would see reporters “in probably two days’ time.” Now, having given themselves those all-important personal days, they’ve given the rest of us a glimpse at their growing family. And we can’t wait to see more!<doc-sep>A BBC broadcaster has been fired after tweeting a joke about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's newborn baby using a photograph of a chimpanzee. Danny Baker, a veteran broadcaster and journalist in the U.K., earlier apologized for his "stupid unthinking gag," which he claimed was not meant to have any racist undertones. "This was a serious error of judgment and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody," a BBC spokesman said in a statement. "Danny's a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us." "Royal baby leaves hospital," Baker had tweeted, attaching a black and white photograph of a well-dressed man and woman holding hands with a chimpanzee wearing a bowler hat and jacket. After fierce backlash by users aghast at Britain's first royal mixed-race baby being seemingly compared to a monkey, the 61-year-old deleted the offending tweet and apologized. "Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up," Baker wrote. "Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased. Soon as those good enough to point out its possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that's it. Now stand by for sweary football tweets." After posting several tweets about the soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Ajax in the Champions League semi-final second leg being played later that evening, Baker, who presents a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live, posted another apology as the backlash against his tweet continued. "Once again. Sincere apologies for the stupid unthinking gag pic earlier. Was supposed to be joke about Royals vs circus animals in posh clothes but interpreted as about monkeys & race, so rightly deleted. Royal watching not my forte." The next day, Baker said reporters had come to speak to him directly about the tweet before saying he had been fired over it. "Here we go. Opened door, grinning Mail hack," Baker wrote. "'Do you think black people look like monkeys?' Any other time you'd knock someone right on their arse for saying that. No mate. Gag pic. Posh baby chimp. Alerted to circs. Appalled. Deleted. Apologised. He asks again! #MailonRacism. "Now Sky at the door," he added. "Would have used same stupid pic for any other Royal birth or [British politician Boris Johnson] kid or even one of my own. It's a funny image. (Though not of course in that context.) Enormous mistake, for sure. Grotesque. Anyway, here's to ya Archie, Sorry mate." "Just got fired from @bbc5live," he added a short while later. Journalist Afua Hirsch was one of those who criticized Baker's joke, dismissing his claims that he did failed to see its racist connotations. "So not only does Danny Baker post an image comparing a baby [with] African heritage to an ape, but he has the audacity to say problem is that those of us who point out how racist it is have 'diseased minds'," Hirsch tweeted. "Classic example of blaming those of us who call out racism for its existence." Casual racism is alive & well. ‘Celebrity’ Danny Baker depicts the royal baby Sussex as a monkey. Excellent. We’ve come so far. It’s fair to say the monkey in the photo is a lot smarter than Danny Baker, and a lot better looking, too. pic.twitter.com/t6OFFR5wxW — Alan Mehdizadeh (@alanmehdizadeh) May 8, 2019 Astonishing Danny Baker could think even for a second this tweet was ok. Tropes like ‘black people are apes’ still dominate everyday racist discourse, penetrating the collective conscious, with direct consequences for how we all think, feel and act. pic.twitter.com/QxTPLeD8yl — Simon Lancaster (@bespokespeeches) May 9, 2019 Danny Baker gag. Seems people refuse to get the *cheeky little monkey* royal baby gag. pic.twitter.com/AIOUuuo4ey â LangleyBristol (@LangleyBristol) May 9, 2019 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made their first appearance with their baby at the St. George's Hall at the royal family's Windsor Castle on May 8 before shortly confirming his name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Speaking to reporters, Markle said her son, who is seventh in line to the throne, has the "sweetest temperament." "He's really calm. He's been the dream," she added. "It's magic, it's pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world, so I'm really happy." The graphic below from Statista shows the current line of succession to the throne following the birth of Archie.<doc-sep>
The first photos of baby Sussex are finally here! Today, Meghan and Harry released three snapshots of their new baby, marking the first time we've seen the little royal since his arrival on Monday. The Duchess of Sussex is absolutely glowing in the pictures, which were taken in St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle. In the images, she's wearing a white dress with a tie waist and buttons by London-based designer Grace Wales Bonner. The new mom paired the look with high heels and styled her hair down. See the photos of the new family of three here: WPA Pool Getty Images WPA Pool Getty Images WPA Pool Getty Images Prior to baby Sussex's arrival, Harry and Meghan announced they wanted to keep the birth of their first child private. That meant the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wouldn't pose for photos as they left the hospital with their newborn baby—a royal custom that has become the norm in the past few decades. Instead of a photo call in the hours following the child's birth, Harry and Meghan decided to wait a few days and release the photos on their own. That said, baby Sussex's royal debut today is still reminiscent of how recent royal babies, including Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were first introduced to the world. Prince William and Kate Middleton opted for the post-hospital photo op all three times, resulting in gorgeous photos of the families and of the newborn royal baby. The first photos of George, Charlotte, and Louis are all similar: a smiling mom and dad pose with the newborn on the steps of the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital in London. Duchess Kate wore a Jenny Packham dress for each photo. When George was born in 2013, she chose a blue polka dot dress that was a touching nod to Princess Diana, who wore a similar dress while leaving the hospital with William after his birth in 1982. In May 2015, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge welcomed Charlotte and introduced her to the world outside of the hospital once again. Just last year, the royals welcomed little Prince Louis, who made his debut just hours after his birth outside the hospital. Kate paid tribute to Princess Diana once again: the late Princess wore a similar red dress with a white Peter Pan collar as she left the hospital with baby Prince Harry in 1984. See the first photos of Baby Sussex's cousins here: Will and Kate pose for photos as they leave the hospital with Prince George (left), Princess Charlotte (center), and Prince Louis (right). Getty Images Baby Sussex arrived on Monday, May 6, weighing 7 lbs, 3 oz. Get more details on the baby's birth, name, and title here. Maggie Maloney Associate Digital Editor Maggie Maloney is the associate editor at Town & Country and ELLE Decor, where she covers style, beauty, jewelry, and the many members of the royal family.