The reunion and name announcement have been met with widespread joy and celebration within the royal family and among the public. This moment signifies a strengthening of family bonds and the beginning of a new chapter for the monarchy.
Further details about the royal family’s celebrations and plans for the newborn are expected to be shared in the coming days.
LONDON — Prince Harry could barely contain himself. Facing a news camera to announce his son’s birth, he rubbed his hands together, bounced on the balls of his feet and seemed unable to stop himself from grinning, even for a second.
“It’s been the most amazing experience I can ever possibly imagine,” he said, standing in front of the stables at Windsor Castle, where two black horses nodded behind him.
“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, and we’re both absolutely thrilled,” he said about his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The duchess, he said, was “amazing,” and the birth “amazing,” and the love and support from the public “amazing.” Then he turned to go, so addled with happiness and sleep deprivation that he appeared to thank the horses.
“This little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m just over the moon,” he managed.
If much of the world was drawn into the child’s birth, a few minutes after dawn on Monday, it was not purely because of the newborn’s position, seventh in line to the British throne.
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The birth of Harry and Meghan’s son elated royal fans on Monday in Windsor, England.Credit…Adrian Dennis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
It was also because he represents change for the oldest of houses. He is half American, descended on his mother’s side from a bellhop in a Cleveland hotel, a laundry worker in Chattanooga, and a bartender in an Atlanta saloon. And he is the first multiracial baby in the British monarchy’s recent history, an instant star in a country where multiracial children make up the fastest-growing ethnic category.
“We have been waiting for him,” said Carol Lengolo, 38, who moved to Britain from South Africa and is raising a son and a daughter in southeast London. She said that she had set up multiple notifications so the family would know the moment the child was born and that when word came through, at 2:39 p.m., they began screaming and ran to the television.
“We feel like Meghan is one of us, so we are supporting her,” she said. “We can’t wait to see what he looks like.”
It is not clear whether the newborn, who falls behind Harry in the line of succession, will receive a royal title, like those bestowed on the three children of Prince William, Harry’s older brother, and William’s wife, Catherine.
