Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

As it happenedended

Royal baby news: Official Instagram account pays tribute to mums on Mother's Day

Buckingham Palace revealed that the Duchess of Sussex gave birth in the early hours of Monday morning

Prince Harry and Meghan speak for first time since birth of baby Archie

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

In the early hours of Monday 6 May, the Duchess of Sussex gave birth to a baby boy, with Prince Harry by her side.

A statement was released on the royal couple’s official Instagram account, revealing that the baby was born before 6am and weighs 7lbs. 3oz.

The first pictures of the couple with their newborn were revealed on Wednesday. The newborn was seen swaddled in a white blanket wearing a white hat.

The couple later announced on Instagram that they had named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

Please allow a moment for the blog to load:

George Clooney is hoping the media will be “kinder” to the Duchess of Sussex after she gave birth to a baby boy.

“I think people should be a little kinder. She’s a young woman who just had a baby, you know?” the actor said – a friend of Meghan and Prince Harry.

He conceded some scrutiny comes with the royal territory. “If you’re a royal, that’s what you have to do,” he said. “It’s the other versions of it – going to interview people’s parents, that kind of stuff. It starts to step into a really dark place.”

Adam Forrest9 May 2019 06:00

After the world learned the Duke and Duchess of Sussex has named their first child Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, royal fans have been asking the meaning behind the child's newly announced moniker?

Although Prince Harry and Meghan haven't confirmed whether Archie is short for Archibald, it is a derivative of the name.

Archibald is derived from the Germanic elements ercan, meaning "genuine", and bald, meaning "bold".

The name became popularised in Scotland during the Middle Ages.

Click below to read more about the meaning behind the name.

omalkate9 May 2019 10:39

Radio host Danny Baker has been fired by the BBC after tweeting about the royal baby using a photo of a chimpanzee.

On Thursday morning, Baker announced he had been fired from the company on Twitter. The BBC is yet to confirm the news.

"Just got fired from @bbc5live. For the record - it was red sauce. Always,” he posted.

On Wednesday, the former BBC Radio 5 Live host tweeted a black-and-white photograph of a couple holding hands with a chimpanzee dressed in a suit alongside the caption: “Royal baby leaves hospital”.

Hours later, Baker issued an apology over the tweet after receiving backlash from social media users who branded it as “racist” due to Meghan Markle’s mixed-race.

The 61-year-old later apologised, writing: “Sorry my gag pic of the little fella in the posh outfit has whipped some up.

"Never occurred to me because, well, mind not diseased.

“Soon as those good enough to point out it’s possible connotations got in touch, down it came. And that’s it.

"Now stand by for sweary football tweets."

omalkate9 May 2019 10:54

The couple’s choice of name has garnered plenty of reaction online, with many showing their love for the newest addition to the royal family.

However, people who share the name Archie delivered mix responses to the news.

Many were happy that Meghan and Harry chose such a “good” name, with some saying they were proud to share the moniker with the royal baby.

omalkate9 May 2019 11:20

New research predicts that Archie is likely to be one of the most popular names in the UK by 2022, which is when the royal infant is expected to start pre-school.

By 2025, it could be the number one name in the nation.

The research was conducted by Ancestry, global leader in family history and consumer genomics, which compared historic census records on its site along with data from the Office of National Statistics.

Unsurprisingly, the company found that royal baby names continue to have a significant influence on the nation’s most popular monikers.

omalkate9 May 2019 12:00

Prince Harry has arrived in The Hague, Netherlands three days after welcoming his newborn son.

As he headed to the Invictus Games Launch, royal fans were quick to congratulate the new father.

omalkate9 May 2019 12:20

Royal correspondent Emily Andrews posted a video of Prince Harry arriving at the Hague’s Sportcampus.

Andrews says that students were heard shouting “Marry me, Harry” as he walked into the building.

omalkate9 May 2019 12:40

ITV News' royal editor Chris Ship posted a video of Prince Harry speaking to athletes at the Hague Sportscampus.

“If he has had little sleep because of Archie, Prince Harry is looking pretty well on it,” Sharp captioned the post.

omalkate9 May 2019 13:10

Thorpe Park Resorts has announced that all members of the public called Archie or Harrison will gain free entry at the theme park this weekend.

According to the organisation, guests will need only show a passport or form of identification when collecting their ticket at the Island Ticket Centre in order to gain free park entrance. 

omalkate9 May 2019 13:40

A mock video of Prince Harry speaking to reporters following the birth of his son on Monday is circulating the internet.

The video features footage of the press encounter but includes an inaccurate voice-over lip-reading the prince’s words.

In the clip, Harry is inaccurately lip-read, describing his child as a “half baby, half moth” hybrid.

The video has received over 3,000 comments and 2,200 “likes” at the time of publishing.

https://www.facebook.com/yahoolifestyleau/videos/481774012564908/

omalkate9 May 2019 14:00

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in