Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now the proud parents of two adorably red-haired tots and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex couldn’t be happier with their little brood. Both of their children, Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, have very meaningful and unusual names, though they aren’t without controversy. When it came time to name their firstborn, however, Markle and Harry had a hard time deciding what his first name would be.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Love An Unusual Name
It’s clear to anyone with eyes and a heart that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle deeply adore their two children, young Archie and Lilibet, who’s referred to as “Lili” by her family. The two have fairly unusual names, with baby Lilibet’s name coming from a childhood nickname for her great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth. The only daughter of the duke and duchess gets her middle name from her late grandmother Princess Diana much like her older cousin Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, who is also named after her great-grandmother.
Baby Lilibet’s name wasn’t without its controversies. When Markle and Harry first revealed their second child’s name, there was a wave of backlash from some royal watchers who insisted it was either inappropriate to use the queen’s personal nickname or that by doing so the Sussexes were trying to curry favor in an unbecoming way. There was a similar stir among royal watchers back in 2019 when Markle and Harry announced the name of their son Archie.
Possible Reason Sussexes Chose “Archie”
While Prince Harry had at one time been third in line for the throne, with the births of his niece and nephews, he’s had a significant drop in the lineup, which was always expected. Since he is now sixth in line behind Prince George (who almost had a different name himself), Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, Harry has a bit more freedom when it comes to naming his own children, who will likely never have a real chance to inherit the throne.
Possibly with that thought in mind, Harry and Markle decided on a surprisingly common name for their firstborn. While Archie can be short for more typically royal names like Archibald or Arthur, that’s not the case for the second-youngest member of the Sussex family. It almost wasn’t Archie’s first name, Markle reportedly revealed recently during a candid conversation at the 2022 Invictus Games.
There Was Another Possibility
Markle was speaking with Mandy McBain, wife of games competitor Sherry McBain, about the McBains’ baby son Harrison, remarking that he shared Archie’s middle name. Markle then reportedly confessed that she and Harry had almost named him Harrison, in a nod to his father, before ultimately deciding to go with it as a middle name instead. “They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn’t decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name,” Sherry told the Press Association later.
Harrison would have been a fitting first name for the strapping young lad, but we have to admit that we’ve grown quite fond of the name Archie over the last few years. It would appear that both Markle and Harry have zero regrets about the first decision they made as new parents.
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