by Susan Flantzer
Credit – https://www.royal.uk/archie-harrison-mountbatten-windsor
The first child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born at 5:26 AM on May 6, 2019, at Portland Hospital for Women and Children, a private hospital on Great Portland Street in London, England. He weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and his father was present for his birth.
Two days after his birth, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex presented their newborn son in St. George’s Hall, one of the State Rooms at Windsor Castle. They spoke with the representative of the press for several minutes. Click on the article below for more photos and a video.
Following their meeting with the media, the Duke and Duchess took their son to meet his great-grandparents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Archie’s maternal grandmother Doria Ragland was also in attendance. Shortly after that meeting, an announcement was made that the Duke and Duchess had named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. Archie is a name the Duke and Duchess liked and Harrison is from an English surname which means “son of Harry” and is quite fitting in this circumstance. For more background on the name, see Unofficial Royalty: What’s in a Name? – Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Credit – https://www.royal.uk/archie-harrison-mountbatten-windsor
At the time of his birth, Archie was seventh in the line of succession to the British throne after his grandfather Charles, Prince of Wales, his uncle Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and his three children, and his father Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. However, Archie was not entitled to the style and title His Royal Highness Prince.
In 1917, King George V issued Letters Patent changing the rights to the style Royal Highness and the title Prince/Princess. The children of the Sovereign, the children of the sons of the Sovereign, and the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would be entitled to the style Royal Highness and the title Prince/Princess. Exceptions to the rule can be made by the Sovereign. For instance, in 2012, Queen Elizabeth II issued a Letters Patent declaring that all the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have the title Prince or Princess and the style Royal Highness. This meant that all the children of Prince William would be HRH Prince/Princess.
Under the 1917 Letters Patent, Archie would be entitled to the style and title His Royal Highness Prince, if and when, his grandfather succeeds to the throne. Archie would then be a male-line grandchild of the Sovereign. Archie is the heir apparent to his father’s Dukedom of Sussex, Earldom of Dumbarton, and Barony of Kilkeel. It is customary that a peer’s heir apparent use one of their parent’s subsidiary titles as a courtesy title. In this case, the courtesy title would be Earl of Dumbarton. However, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex instead decided that their son would be styled as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in accordance with their wish that he live his life as a private citizen. For more information, see Unofficial Royalty: Their Royal Highness Prince and Princess.
Windsor Castle: the Private Chapel, after the restoration drawn 1999 by Alexander Creswell: Credit – Royal Collection Trust
Archie was christened into the Church of England on July 6, 2019, by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in a private ceremony at the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle, not to be confused with St. George’s Chapel. The names of his godparents were not made public. Twenty-five guests attended the christening but their names were not released. A group photo (below), one of two photos released, shows Archie with his parents, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, Doria Ragland who is Archie’s maternal grandmother, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, Archie’s great-aunts, the sisters of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The original Private Chapel in Windsor Castle was created for Queen Victoria by architect Edward Blore between 1840 and 1847. Many of Queen Victoria’s children and grandchildren were christened at the original Private Chapel in Windsor Castle. The Private Chapel in Windsor Castle is the most common christening site for the House of Windsor. Archie is the tenth member of the House of Windsor to be christened there. The others are King George V, Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, Prince George, Duke of Kent, Prince William of Gloucester, Prince Michael of Kent, Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
On November 20, 1992, a fire began in the Private Chapel in Windsor Castle when a spotlight was left too close to curtains by a painter. The fire caused much damage to Windsor Castle and destroyed the original Private Chapel. The Private Chapel was later restored but the new Private Chapel is much smaller, has chairs instead of pews and is only able to fit thirty people. The new altar was made by Queen Elizabeth’s nephew David Armstrong-Jones, 2nd Earl of Snowdon who is a furniture designer and maker.