Dominic Lipinski – WPA Pool/Getty Images(LONDON) — Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, debuted their newborn son to the world Wednesday in a format that stood out in several ways.
Harry and Meghan, who gave birth Monday, skipped the traditional postpartum hospital photo call immediately after the birth. They chose instead to debut their son a few days after his birth at St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, the same place they held their wedding reception last May.
Also, Harry walked out holding his son — a departure from some past royal photo calls, where the mother has typically held the baby.
When Harry was born 34 years ago, his mother, the late Princess Diana, posed outside of St. Mary’s Hospital in London holding him as Harry’s father, Prince Charles, stood next to her.
A few years before, the same type of photo call took place after the birth of Harry’s older brother, Prince William, with both Princess Diana and Prince Charles holding their firstborn son.
A few decades after that, in 2013, Prince William walked out of St. Mary’s Hospital alongside his wife, Kate, who held their firstborn son, Prince George.
Prince William and Kate did the same after the births of their next two children, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
Kate and Diana gave birth to each of their children at St. Mary’s Hospital’s Lindo Wing, a maternity wing rich in royal history.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, gave birth at Portland Hospital, a private hospital in London, ABC News understands.
She delivered the baby, who weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, at 5:26 a.m. local time, according to Buckingham Palace. Just a few hours after the birth, she was at home at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor with Prince Harry and her mom, Doria Ragland, the palace said in a statement announcing the baby’s birth.
Each of Kate and Diana’s deliveries caused a media circus, with reporters, photographers and fans camped outside the Lindo Wing for days in advance.
Instead of Harry and Meghan facing the cameras on Monday after their son’s birth, it was just a giddy Harry who stepped out to speak to a small group of reporters near Frogmore Cottage to announce his son’s birth.
“I’m so incredibly proud of my wife,” said Harry, who described himself as “over the moon” and called his son’s birth “amazing” and “absolutely incredible.”
On Wednesday, Harry and Meghan were greeted at Windsor Castle by only a small pool of media selected by Buckingham Palace in advance.
“It’s magic. It’s pretty amazing,” Meghan said. “I have the two best guys in the world, so I’m really happy”
In choosing to wait a few days before debuting their son, Harry and Meghan exercised the greater flexibility they have with their son being seventh in line to the throne.
The couple’s decision to first “celebrate privately as a new family” drew ire from some members of the British press when it was first announced last month.
“This is the shattering of a tradition that goes back for decades,” one journalist told The New York Times. “There is a price to be paid for that, and that price is mockery.”
After just two days of waiting, though, the world on Wednesday got its first glimpse of Baby Sussex.
“He’s just been the dream, so it’s been a special couple days,” said Meghan, later thanking the public for their “well wishes” and “kindness.”
“It just means so much,” she said.
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