Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed Prince Archie back in 2019, with the young royal becoming an eighth great-grandchild for the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The late Queen referred to Archie as ‘eighth great-grandchild’ in her Christmas address in 2019 (Image: GETTY)
The late Queen Elizabeth II is said to have made an impersonal comment after the birth of Prince Archie back in May 2019.
Though she was undoubtedly excited over the birth of her latest great-grandson, the late monarch made a rather unusual three-word comment in an official address which royal expert Robert Lacey believed indicated that things were not all well behind closed doors.
The royal author and historian noted that in the late Queen’s annual Christmas message after Archie’s birth, the former monarch only quickly referenced the newest addition to the Sussex family, and not by name.
He told the Daily Mail: “Who does and who does not feature on the royal Christmas desk has always been like the changing panorama of faces on the historic balcony of Moscow’s Kremlin. It showed who was in favour and who was not.
“In 2018, Harry and Meghan had featured smiling in a silver frame. But there would be no sign of them in 2019, nor any mention of the name Sussex.”
He added: “The Queen simply acknowledged the arrival of her great-grandchild in passing, without mentioning his name or his parents: ‘Prince Philip and I have been delighted to welcome our eighth great-grandchild into our family.’
“This was the Queen’s only reference to the new arrival and his parents in her 2019 address to the world — an anonymous ‘eighth great-grandchild’.
“The Sussex family had been ‘non-personed’ as effectively as the Soviets non-personed Trotsky and Khrushchev — another charming custom, of course, that had been developed by the Kremlin.”
Just weeks after the late Queen’s address of Archie’s birth, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry shared their plans to step down as senior working royals.
They soon moved to begin a new life in the US with Archie, who was less than a year-old at the time. Meghan gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Lilibet in June 2021.
