The Duke and Duchess of Sussex — better known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — on Monday welcomed their first child, a boy, the first interracial baby in the British monarchy’s recent history.
The newborn is seventh in line to the British throne, behind Prince Harry. It is not clear whether the child will receive a royal title, like those bestowed on the three children of Prince William, Harry’s older brother, and William’s wife, Catherine.
Buckingham Palace said in a statement that Meghan gave birth at 5:26 a.m. and that her mother, Doria Ragland, was with the new parents at their home, Frogmore Cottage. The newborn boy weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, the royal couple wrote on Instagram; a name had not been chosen yet.
“This little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m just over the moon,” a beaming Prince Harry told reporters outside the couple’s residence near Windsor Castle. “Mother and baby are doing incredibly well. It’s been the most amazing experience I can ever possibly imagine. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, and we’re both absolutely thrilled.”
The baby is sure to be the object of uncommon fascination, adored and criticized as a symbol of the modernization of Britain’s royal family.
