The first child of Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is now six months old. Baby Archie is already an unconventional royal with his American mother Meghan Markle. Here are all the up-to-date details on this famous (and famously adorable) little boy.
His full name is Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor
Archie is not a traditional royal name. It comes from Archibald, which is German in origin, meaning both precious and bold. But despite this, Archie is very much a British name. It was the 18th most popular name for boys in England and Wales in 2017, which is probably one of the reasons it was chosen, signifying that he’s going to be like a “typical British boy.” Harrison is an odd choice for a middle name as it’s more commonly a surname, but it literally means “son of Harry,” so its significance is obvious.
Unlike his cousins and other relatives, though, he only has one middle name. Traditionally, royal babies are given three or even four names, to honor other relatives’ memory. For example, Prince Harry’s full name is Henry Charles Albert David. And Prince Charles’ full name is Charles Phillip Arthur George.
As for Archie’s surname, he takes the name of his great-grandparents, the combined surnames of Prince Phillip and Queen Elizabeth: Mountbatten-Windsor. Since Meghan renounced her maiden name when she married Harry, her last name of Markle was not considered.
Archie is not a prince, nor does he have a royal title
Archie, simply by being born, automatically became seventh in a line of succession for the British throne: behind his grandfather Charles; his uncle William; his three cousins Charlotte, George, and Louis; and his father Harry.
But Harry, as the second son of Charles, does not pass on the “prince” moniker to his own progeny. Only William as the heir’s heir gets to style his children as princes and princesses.
Archie could have taken on the title of Earl of Dumbarton (one of Harry’s current titles). But Harry and Meghan decided to dispense with the titles altogether. Instead, their child will simply be styled as “Master Archie.”
Archie was born on May 6, 2019, at Portland Hospital in London
Archie came into the world at 5:26 am and weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces. Although it was speculated that Meghan wanted to deliver a home birth, she did deliver in a hospital. Unlike Kate, Duchess of Cambridge (and wife to Prince William), Meghan and Harry wanted a bit of privacy around the delivery and did not announce the birth location in advance. When the birth was announced, many international landmarks like the London Eye and Niagara Falls lit up in colors to mark the occasion.
Archie was christened two months later at Windsor Castle’s private chapel, dressed in the traditional royal dressing gown. Although it was a closed affair, just for family members, it’s reported that one of Archie’s godparents is former Burberry director of communications Isabel May. It was thought that William and Kate would stand as godparents but they have enough on their hands as uncle and aunt, apparently.
Archie lives with his parents at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, a historically protected home built by Queen Charlotte in 1801. It is not part of Windsor Castle but is part of the royal estate.
Archie has dual American-British citizenship… for now
As Meghan has not yet become a British citizen, since she hasn’t lived there long enough yet, she has passed her American citizenship onto her son. This is not as complicated as it may sound, though, since as stated above he is not directly in line for the throne.
Furthermore, Meghan may not choose to change nationality at all, which means that all of her children would have dual citizenship. But there’s one advantage to Meghan and Archie both renouncing their American citizenship at some point: the United States taxes citizens’ income even when they live abroad, so it may happen for tax purposes.
It’s official: Archie is a redhead!
After half a year of speculation on whether or not Archie would take after his dad, hair finally started sprouting on little Archie’s head. And like his father, Archie is a redhead.
In addition to growing hair, Archie first two baby teeth have also come in.
According to an Us Weekly source, “He’s a strong baby and you can tell he’s super smart. He can sit up without support and roll over, and he’s almost crawling. He can’t talk yet, but he’s trying!”