In 2018, Prince Harry & Meghan Markle tied the knot 2018 at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, England.
Millions worldwide followed the wedding between the prince and the former actress, but their royal status was gone years later as they left for pastures new.
Instead, the family of four, including children Archie and Lilibet, have settled in Montecito, California, where they will live happily for, what we hope, will be a very long time.
Harry & Meghan announced they were expecting Archie just months after their wedding. At that stage, they were fully working royals with all the duties and engagements that came with their titles. Yet new information reveals that the couple were worried they wouldn’t be able to have a child at all … and for one particular reason.
It took some years, but in 2020, the Sussexes left royal life behind. The narrative has developed since then, and today, the relationship between Harry & Meghan and the Firm is far from good.
Harry & Meghan’s popularity plummeted after ‘Spare’ release
Though Harry and Meghan wanted a more private, calm life compared to the one they lived in the royal sphere, things have not quite been all that quiet around the couple since their big move. One Oprah Winfrey interview, one Netflix documentary, and one tell-all book from Harry later, and the couple find themselves more in the spotlight than ever before.
Initially, Harry and Meghan were quite popular among their fans at home in Britain. But with the release of Harry’s book, Spare, their popularity plummeted.
In a YouGov survey published in The Times, only 24 percent of the UK population have retained a favorable view of Harry. That number is down from 80 percent a decade ago, with 68 percent of those surveyed even being critical of him.
According to the survey, Harry and Meghan’s popularity ratings among those over 65 were in fact worse than the ratings of Prince Andrew.
It’s safe to say that Harry and Meghan, on some level, will never escape the attention of the media, though they might not be seen in public as much as they were while on royal duties. That said, rumors suggest that Harry’s publisher may well try to get Meghan to write her own tell-all book.
Until then, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will most likely spend the majority of their time with their two children. The last months have been hectic, but when looking at the couple’s deals with Spotify and Netflix, there’s hardly cause for them to stress over returning to work. The couple are solidified multimillionaires, after all, and Harry reportedly earned an “extra” $20 million for his book, Spare.
Archie and Lilibet’s appearances in Netflix documentary
Harry and Meghan have been understandably very restrictive about showing their children to the world. Archie and Lilibet have only appeared a few times in pictures, though recently the world got a better look at them.
Though Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary – which aired in December – has more serious parts, three-year-old Archie essentially stole the show, appearing several times. Not only that, but viewers heard him speak for the first time.
The documentary also included several intimate family pictures of Harry and Meghan with Archie. In one of the clips, Archie runs up a hill while Lilibet is pushed in a stroller by her father. Another of the royal couple’s photos shows Harry cuddling up with Archie – wearing a knitted hooded jumper with bear ears – beneath an umbrella.
In one heartwarming scene filmed by Meghan, Prince Harry can be seen birdwatching with Archie from the patio of their Montecito mansion.
Meghan was also watching the hummingbirds near their house, and Harry, an avid bird watcher, told his son that he should be quiet and listen to the sounds of nature.
“We won’t get a chance to be this close to hummingbirds ever again,” Harry told Archie.
Archie’s revealed speaking in American accent
Of course, with Archie being just three years old, he did the exact opposite. Just moments after being told to stay quiet by his father, he became rather loud.
“I’ve got a dirty foot mama because I was with you,” Archie said, and his parents started laughing.
“You’ve got a dirty foot, sweetheart,” Meghan replied. “Papa is a birdwatcher so this is a really big moment for him.”
The fact that Archie is now talking might not come as a surprise. However, many fans reacted to the manner of Archie’s speech. As he’s been living in the US for quite a while, the young boy has adopted an American accent – and fans couldn’t help but remark on it.
While Harry and Meghan have their hands full raising their children and orchestrating other career-driven projects, the start of their parenthood was quite dramatic, at least for Harry.
In his book, Spare, Harry criticized many family members and brought other aspects of his life to the spotlight, including, for example, the day his mother, Princess Diana, died in a tragic car crash.
Harry recalls emotional births of ARchie and Lilibet in ‘Spare’
In Spare, Harry also described the extraordinary scene at the Portland Hospital where he decided to get high on laughing gas to calm himself down.
“But I saw two ways of enhancing my calm. One: Nando’s chicken (brought by our bodyguards). Two: A canister of laughing gas beside Meg’s bed. I took several slow, penetrating hits,” Harry wrote in his tell-all book.
“Meg was so calm. I was calm too.”
He added: “Meg, bouncing on a giant purple ball, a proven way of giving nature a push, laughed and rolled her eyes. I took several more hits, and now I was bouncing too.”
Harry then explained that a nurse tried giving his wife the gas for the pain, but he had already consumed it.
“I could see the thought slowly dawning. Gracious, the husband’s had it all. ‘Sorry,” I said meekly.’”
Eventually, doctors decided to give Meghan an epidural to ease the pain.
“The anesthetist hurried in. Off went the music, on went the lights. Whoa. Vibe change.”
Though there was an initial worry that Archie had been tangled up in his umbilical cord, he emerged unharmed – reducing both Harry and Meghan to tears.
