The wait for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s royal baby continues, but at least one burning question has already been answered: unlike royal couples of the past few decades, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be introducing their new bundle of joy to the public in a flashbulb-filled photo op outside a hospital in the day (er, hours?) after his or her birth. Instead, Harry and Meghan said in a statement that they plan to to share “the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
The news is bound to spark sadness for royally-frenzied fans who are accustomed to watching the tradition live, cooing, shrieking and, in my mother’s case, swiftly ordering the G.H. Hurt receiving blanket worn by Prince George in his 2013 debut as a baby shower gift for me. But there is also a palpable sense of triumph for those who have cheered Harry and Meghan’s efforts to conduct modern, royal life in their own, forward-thinking way. Like they themselves often are, the decision couldn't be more relatable. So they don’t want to present their freshly-born baby to the masses like Simba in the opening moments of The Lion King—who would? Perhaps Meghan anticipates that, mere hours postpartum, she won’t want to don pantyhose and heels and greet the prying eyes of the entire world while most women in her situation are still wearing paper underwear? More power—and a deep curtsy—to her.
The Sussexes’ decision to eschew the usual media circus outside the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital (they are reportedly considering a home birth) shines a light on the time-honored—if bizarre—tradition itself. Queen Elizabeth gave birth to her four children at home, either at Buckingham Palace, where Princes Charles, Andrew, and Edward were born (in the case of Charles, while Prince Philip was reportedly playing squash) or at Clarence House, where the monarch welcomed Princess Anne. But as the royals began to double as celebrities and tabloid staples in the early 1980s, the splashy royal baby reveal, perhaps coincidentally, emerged as well.
Princess Anne and Mark Phillips introduced baby Zara Phillips on the steps outside the Lindo Wing in 1981, a year before the iconic appearance of Princess Diana and Prince Charles beaming down at the wee future King of England, Prince William, in 1982. Prince Harry followed in 1984, and the tradition of the hospital debut endured with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie, who were born at the Portland hospital in 1988 and 1990, respectively. Later, Prince Edward and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, met the press outside Frimley Park Hospital in 2003, smiling stoically despite giving premature birth to little Lady Louise via emergency Caesarean section— a sentence that may induce physical pangs of empathy from women who have done the same.
But no royal mother since Princess Diana has sparked more conversation about the Live from the Lindo Wing show than Kate Middleton, who seemed almost saintly herself in her three postpartum St. Mary’s appearances with Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The questions abounded: how does her hair look so good and her skin so glowy—even with professional help? How is she standing at all? There was joy and excitement and some cultural power in these moments—the sight of Kate’s still-swollen belly beneath her polka dotted Jenny Packham dress with Prince George in 2013 created conversation about the realities of the postpartum body (no, it does not instantaneously shrink back to its original form). But in the midst of third-wave feminism, and more frank conversations about birth and women's health, Kate’s superhuman appearances also made clear that there is something increasingly unsettling about asking new royal mothers, public figures though they may be, to get gussied up for the public’s enjoyment. These buzzy, pop cultural “celebrations” are also open season—even more than usual—for voyeurs to dig into their popcorn and analyze the fashion and beauty choices of a person who should be strictly off-limits: a woman who has just given birth.
Meghan may know this all too well, given the level of sexist and racist vitriol she’s endured during her pregnancy. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex may simply have more freedom to break from royal baby tradition than future King William and Kate did, but Meghan and Harry’s decision is only the latest sign that they plan to be more modern, progressive members of the House of Windsor. From decamping from Kensington Palace to live at Frogmore House to Meghan giving thoughtful speeches about feminism and student loans and Harry partnering with Oprah on an Apple series about mental health, the Sussexes are blending the monarchy with celebrity and advocacy, not unlike the George and Amal Clooney (or Oprah!) of the royal family.
And like many celebrities, according to Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl, Meghan and Harry will likely release a sure-to-be-darling photo of their new baby rather than submitting to a live meet-the-press moment. It may be a departure from the old royal order, but it’s picture perfect for them.
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