It started with a baby boy born on a bank holiday Monday morning – and by Wednesday we had seen a photo of his little face, found out his name, and heard just how happy Meghan and Harry were with their “little bundle of joy”.
In a whirlwind of a week, here’s your royal baby wrap-up, with everything you need to know about the newest royal: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Monday
Meghan went into labour in the early hours of Monday 6 May – while many of us were enjoying a day off work. Kensington Palace confirmed news of the labour on Monday afternoon, and it was rumoured that Meghan had gone overdue and was being induced.
By 3pm, we got the news that the royal baby had in fact been born that same morning. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the birth of their first child through a statement from their Instagram account @sussexroyal.
It was a boy!
“We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019,” the caption read. “Their Royal Highnesses’ son weighs 7lbs. 3oz.”
Prince Harry spoke to press outside his home in Frogmore Cottage, calling the birth “the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined,” adding: “how any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension.
“We’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there, it’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody,” he said.
Harry was so giddy with joy that he even thanked the horses behind him.
His words about Meghan and awe, in general, at women giving birth was something many dads could relate to, including our parenting reporter Mike Rampton – “he’s right to be flapped, and awestruck, and impressed, and delighted, because holy shit, what a thing to happen. I know – I’ve been there,” Mike wrote.
It hasn’t yet been confirmed where Meghan gave birth, although there are rumours she was taken to the Portland hospital, a private maternity unit on Great Portland Street in London – where Princess Beatrice and Eugenie were delivered.
The world went bananas – with Americans even more excited than Brits.
Tuesday
As news of the royal baby settled in, people were keen to find out one thing: just what was the royal baby’s name?! There were 10 popular names in the running – but none of them ended up being Harry and Meghan’s choice.
The Duke of Cambridge was out and about in Greenwich on Tuesday, when he first publicly celebrated his brother and sister-in-law’s news. William said he was “looking forward to seeing them in the next few days when things have quietened down”, adding: “I’m very pleased and glad to welcome my own brother into the sleep deprivation society that is parenting.”
[Read More: How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep As A Parent]
The baby’s grandfather, the Prince of Wales, also spoke publicly about the birth, saying he was thrilled at the arrival of his latest grandchild. “We couldn’t be more delighted at the news and we’re looking forward to meeting the baby,” he said.
Here’s a list of all the other royal playmates excited to meet Baby Sussex.
Wednesday
A.k.a The Big Day. The world was granted its first glimpse of the royal baby, as the two-day-old was pictured with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for the first time in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle – before a trip to meet the Queen.
[Read More: Here he is – the first photos of the royal baby]
“It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing,” said Meghan. “I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy. He has the sweetest temperament, he’s really calm.”
As they both laughed, Harry said: “I don’t know who he gets that from”, before his wife added: “He’s just been the dream so it’s been a special couple of days.”
When asked how he was finding being a dad, Harry said: “It’s great. Parenting is amazing. It’s only been two and a half days, three days, but we’re just so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy.”
[Read More: I Know What Fatherhood Will Be Like For Prince Harry – We’re Vaguely Similar]
The couple were asked to show more of their son’s face to the cameras – and Meghan laughed as Harry made his first dad joke: “He’s already got a little bit of facial hair as well, wonderful.”
Months of speculation came to an end on Wednesday afternoon as Harry and Meghan revealed they had named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, via a new family photograph posted to their @sussexroyal account.
The photo shared the moment The Queen and Prince Philip did indeed met Archie, with Meghan’s mother Doria also looking on proudly in the shot. Doria flew over from her home in California before the birth and is staying with Meghan, Harry and Archie at Frogmore Cottage.
[Read More: Doria’s Appearance In Royal Baby Photo Celebrated As Watershed For ‘Multicultural Britain’]
Her presence in the photos was significant, HuffPost UK readers told us. “It reminds the public and the royal family there is black in the Union Jack,” Patrick Vernon OBE, a prominent campaigner during the UK’s Windrush scandal, said.
Many were surprised at the name, with some suggesting it should have been “Archibald”. But people always have an opinion on baby names, whatever they are, says our reporter Victoria Richards. Other people named Archie enjoyed the announcement, as well as a pet owner whose dog was called Archie Harrison. Before Baby Sussex, he was keen to point out.
Archie means “genuine”, “bold” and “brave”, and is German in origin. Once short for Archibald, it’s now given as a name in its own right. Famous Archies include the actress Archie Panjabi, who starred in The Good Wife, and Archie Andrews, a fictional charater in the Archie comics and Netflix show, Riverdale.
Harrison, meanwhile, means “son of Harry” – so slightly more literal there.
Thursday
Prince Harry went back to work to the launch of Invictus 2020 in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Thursday. He was presented with an Invictus Games babygrow, and pictured holding the mini bodysuit up against his own Invictus Games shirt, showing how tiny it really was.
But also on Thursday, Danny Baker faced a huge backlash over a tweet about the royal baby and was later sacked from his show on BBC Radio 5 Live.
Baker was panned for a tweet he posted on Wednesday about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son, which featured an image of a chimpanzee.
The black and white archive photo showed a well-dressed man and woman holding hands with a suited chimpanzee, which he captioned: “Royal baby leaves hospital”.
A rep for the BBC told HuffPost UK: “This was a serious error of judgment and goes against the values we as a station aim to embody. Danny’s a brilliant broadcaster but will no longer be presenting a weekly show with us.”
Baker deleted the tweet and apologised, but late said he had been “thrown under a bus” by the BBC.
Friday
Baker apologised for his “catastophic” tweet: “I just want to formally apologise for the outrage I caused and explain how I got myself into this mess. I chose the wrong photo to illustrate a joke. Disastrously so,” he said in a statement.
[Read More: Danny Baker’s Tweet Makes It Painfully Obvious The Royal Baby Won’t Solve Racism In The UK]
Harry and Meghan, alongside Kate and William, went back to work – of sorts – as the Sussexes and Cambridges jointly announced the launch of ‘Shout’, a free, 24/7 mental health text support service helping those in need.
And the royal baby? Well, he was notably quiet but as a five-day-old he is no doubt keeping his parents busy. Wishing you a great first weekend, Archie!