Royal Bundle Of Joy

Master Archie made history as the latest addition to the House of Windsor, but the sight of his dad, Prince Harry, overflowing with happiness was an even greater royal milestone, writes Juliet Rieden.

- Juliet Rieden

The build-up to the birth of the royal we all knew as “baby Sussex” was filled with suspense and mystery. While the public and we royal reporters ached for any skerrick of information we could garner from the palace, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were resolutely drawing a line in the sand. The couple’s first child would be born privately behind closed doors.

Those doors might be at their new family home, Frogmore Cottage, a stone’s throw from Harry’s granny’s place at Windsor Castle, or at a hospital, but no one would be told. The usual posse of royal fans who traditionally gather to celebrate, Champagne in hand, and especially journalists and photographers, were not welcome. Instead, this would be a special intimate moment for this very public couple, the most important in their lives and one they wanted to cherish without the glare of the media spotlight.

The circus that Harry’s mother and father and his brother and sister-in-law had endured, facing a bank of photographers and journalists on the Lindo Wing hospital steps just hours after the births of their children, was vetoed. The due date was kept secret and we were largely kept in the dark about the circumstances of the birth of the seventh in line to the throne until close to nine hours after it had happened.