How Celebs And Royals Reacted When Meghan Markle's Son Was Born
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's baby is here! In modern royal fashion, the royal couple took to Instagram to announce the birth of their first child. According to their Insta statement, "the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019." Oh, and it's a boy! The Instagram post continued, "Their Royal Highnesses' son weighs 7lbs. 3oz."
The royal family's official site was also updated with a statement about Harry and Meghan's new addition. In it, the family confirmed that the newest male royal was "safely delivered" at 5:26 a.m. and Harry was "present for the birth."
In their personal statement, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex promised to share more details "in the forthcoming days" and assured the public that mom and baby are both doing well. As could be expected, many have already taken to social media to congratulate, or just voice their opinions about, the new baby. Here's how royals and celebs have reacted to the birth announcement of Harry and Meghan's baby.
New dad Prince Harry
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Instagram statement revealed that both the new mother and father were "overjoyed" at the arrival of their son. Although Meghan has not made a public appearance as of this writing, we got to see firsthand just how overjoyed Harry truly was.
The prince, smiling from ear to ear, addressed the media a little over an hour after the birth of his and Meghan's son. "It's been the most amazing experience I could have ever have possibly imagined," he revealed to Sky News. "How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we're both absolutely thrilled and so grateful [for] all the love and support from everybody out there." When asked about the baby's name, Harry revealed that their son was "a little bit overdue" so he and Meghan had some more time to think of a name. Still, he admitted they hadn't settled on one just yet. But on May 8, 2019, Harry and Meghan announced in an Instagram post that they'd named their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.
Members of the royal family
Although the birth of the royal baby is arguably most exciting for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the extended family of baby Sussex are rejoicing too. Per the royal family's official statement on their site, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles, Prince William, and Kate Middleton are "delighted with the news." But those aren't the only family members who are excited. The statement also revealed that "Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Earl [Charles] Spencer" were also informed (and "delighted," naturally) to hear of the birth of Harry and Meghan's son. If you're wondering who in the world those people are, we hear you.
These names don't often come up in conversation about the royal family. Nevertheless, Jane, Sarah, and Charles are the siblings of the late Princess Diana and are thus the aunts and uncle, respectively, to Harry. In addition to being named in the official statement, Uncle Charles took to Twitter to express his delight once more. "Really very lovely news today — many, many, congratulations! (Good to have another Taurean in the family...)," he wrote.
Barack and Michelle Obama
The 44th United States President, Barack Obama, and First Lady Michelle Obama took to Twitter to congratulate the new royal parents. "Congratulations, Meghan and Harry! Barack and I are so thrilled for both of you and can't wait to meet him," Michelle tweeted.
It really isn't too far-fetched to picture Meghan and Harry introducing their little one to the Obamas. The Palace confirmed to Harper's Bazaar that Meghan had the chance to meet Michelle back in December 2018. Harry has also developed a rapport with both the former president and first lady. Additionally, Barack and Michelle already met William and Kate's son, Prince George, during an official visit in 2016. According to The Telegraph, the young prince was even given permission to stay up late to meet the couple — in his pajamas and bathrobe, no less — and he made sure to show off the rocking horse they'd gifted him when he was first born. Adorbs.
The Suits family
Meghan's Suits husband Patrick J. Adams was excited to learn that his former co-star welcomed her first child. "Just heard that the world just got heavier by 7 pounds and 3 ounces. Much love to him and his incredible parents," the actor tweeted. Adams, who welcomed his first child in October 2018, continued, writing, "Learned first hand 7 months ago how transformational becoming a parent is and couldn't be happier for Meghan and Harry as they begin this adventure." The star ended his tweet with a fitting — and hopeful — hashtag: "#playdatesoon."
Another former co-star of Meghan's, Sarah Rafferty also congratulated the new parents. "Hearts are leaping for a beautiful, wondrous and healthy baby boy!" she tweeted. "Sending much love and wishes for every blessing across the pond today and everyday!" The official Suits Twitter page also chimed in, sending a blanket congratulatory message from Meghan's entire Suits family.
Kate Hudson
While there were plenty of people celebrating the baby Archie's arrival, Metro reported that actress Kate Hudson took to Instagram to poke a little fun at all of the commotion surrounding the newest royal's birth. "It's a really big day guys because the royal baby has arrived," the actress mused in an Instagram story (via Metro). Hudson then wondered aloud if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would opt for a female or male nanny — aka "manny" — because, as Hudson added, "they're super progressive."
After contemplating nannies, Hudson switched over to making a few wise cracks about all of the royal baby news reports. She joked, "I'm sure it's going to be a pretty good day of people repeating they don't know what the name is yet." Kate continued her light ribbing, adding, "I might get back to you with the breaking news of NOT knowing what the name is." Hudson can't joke about that anymore since Harry and Meghan announced their little one's name on May 8.
Aunt Kate and Uncle William
Although the royal family's official announcement cited Prince William and Kate Middleton as being "delighted" about the birth of Harry and Meghan's son, the couple provided a longer comment to the media about their newborn nephew the day after his birth.
While the royal couple attended the launch of a charity sailing competition, William revealed that he and Kate were "absolutely thrilled" about the news. William joked, "I'm very pleased to welcome my brother to the sleep deprivation society that is parenting!" Uncle Billy was also asked if he had any advice for his younger brother. "Oh, there's plenty of advice," he responded with a laugh. "But no, I wish him all the best and I hope the next few days they can settle down and enjoy having a newborn in the family and all of the sort of joys that come with that." Kate added that she, too, was looking forward to meeting the couple's son and was excited to find out what the name will be. We wonder what she thinks about the moniker Archie...
Bestie Priyanka Chopra
Ever since Priyanka Chopra and Meghan Markle met back at Elle's Women in Television event in 2016, the international actress and the duchess have been close friends. "We bonded as actors," Chopra told People. Although their careers are what initially brought them together, they've been able to maintain a strong relationship through the years. "I think friendships depend on people individually and how personal your relationship is," Chopra explained. "You can have work friendships, those are different. But when you have real friendships, like ours, it doesn't matter what people look at you as or where your world goes, you sort of just, stay friends." Aww.
Chopra famously attended Meghan and Harry's royal wedding in May 2018 and had reportedly planned to attend Meghan's baby shower but was unfortunately unable to leave work. With the Met Gala on the same day as the royal birth, you probably wouldn't have blamed the actress if she didn't have time to give a congratulatory shoutout to her bestie. Nevertheless, News18.com reported, that the star shared Meghan and Harry's birth announcement to her Insta stories, adding, "Congratulations M & H" — with a pink heart for good measure.
Prime Minister Theresa May
Soon after baby Sussex's arrival was officially announced, England's Prime Minister Theresa May extended her well wishes upon the new parents. "Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the arrival of their baby boy," May tweeted. "Wishing you all the best at this happy time."
Some think May is especially excited over the royal baby's timing as it could conceivably work to distract the British public from the ongoing Brexit battle. "Nobody is praying for a royal baby right now harder than she," royal historian John Bull said (via Express) ahead of the royal's birth. It is true that just a few days prior to baby Sussex's arrival, former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith called on Theresa May to step down as prime minister. But, as the comments on May's Twitter reveal, many Brits don't appear to be too distracted by the royal baby news.
Meghan's fave facialst Nichola Joss
After Meghan and Harry shared an Instagram post about their son's arrival, Nichola Joss reposted the photo and added, "Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex [blue heart emoji]." It makes sense that Joss would want to congratulate this royal couple as Meghan is one of her clients.
In 2014, Meghan shared some beauty secrets with Birchbox. "I do facial exercises from one of my favorite aestheticians, Nicola Joss, who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out." she explained. Meghan added, "There's a reason she is in high demand around awards season when every actress wants to look A-plus," the then-actress added.
Meghan's go-to facialist is based in London — super convenient for Megs these days — and is the creator of the Inner Facial. Prior to the royal wedding, she shared her experience working with the duchess. "Facials are super-important to Meghan, and then her daily at-home maintenance makes sure she has the best-ever skin," Joss divulged to Vogue. "She's anti the mannequin look, as I call it. She likes effective natural products and treatments to de-stress and anti-age." Hmm, perhaps a postpartum facial is in order.
These television hosts got jokes
It's not only those across the pond who are reacting to the royal baby news. "It's a boy! Congrats to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry," Ryan Seacrest excitedly tweeted before adding a Game of Thrones quip. "The royal baby is [seventh] in line to the British throne ... and the latest entry in the race for the iron throne."
Ellen DeGeneres also addressed the baby's lineage after congratulating the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. "The baby is [seventh] in line for the throne, which is crazy, because right now I'm [seventh] in line for the key-making kiosk at my grocery store," she joked.
The American television hosts are certainly correct about baby Sussex's spot in line. Upon his birth, Meghan and Harry's baby took Prince Andrew's place — sorry not sorry? — as seventh in line to the throne and bumped him to eighth. Consequently, Andrew's daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, were also bumped to ninth and tenth places, respectively.
Rob Thomas is happy but...
Singer Rob Thomas also addressed the birth of the newest royal, but he didn't do so with the same sense of humor as Ellen DeGeneres or Ryan Seacrest. "Opened [HuffPost] and the headline was about climate change and the extinction of over a million species," he revealed in a tweet. "A minute later it changed to news about the royal baby. So happy for ole Harry and Meghan but maybe that short attention span doesn't help our awareness about global warming?"
While many are expressing their excitement over the royal baby, the Matchbox Twenty frontman's tweet definitely had a different vibe. However, it is pretty on brand for the singer as he's been vocal about the effects of climate change for some time. In the past, Thomas has worked with the Save Our Selves organization, performing in their Live Earth concerts in an effort to spread awareness about and combat climate change. As a longtime philanthropist, he and his wife also run a charity that helps fund no-kill animal shelters. Okay, okay — we'll give him a free pass for not being too hyped about Archie's birth.
Oscar de la Renta
Imagine having the Oscar de la Renta brand congratulate you on the birth of your child. The world-renowned fashion label revealed on Instagram, "Congratulations to [Meghan Markle], Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry who welcomed a baby boy this morning!" As a longtime fan and wearer of the brand, Meghan will likely be pretty excited to learn of the shoutout.
Since the early days of her pregnancy, Meghan forwent most "traditional" maternity outfits and instead relied on many of the trusted labels, including Oscar de la Renta, she donned before becoming pregnant. But high-fashion designer dresses don't come cheap. Express estimated that the 75 outfits Meghan wore while attending royal engagements cost about £634,000 (around $828,000). Nevertheless, British taxpayers didn't have to worry about footing the bill for Meghan's Oscar de la Renta wardrobe. Royal expert Victoria Arbiter told Global News (via Express) that "Prince Charles pays for the wardrobe of he and Camilla, as well as William, Kate, Harry and Meghan."
Not everyone is congratulating the couple
Not everyone thought congratulations were in order when reacting to the latest royal baby news. Comedian Whitney Cummings joked on Twitter, writing, "Meghan Markle had a baby ... count down to when people start posting photos of themselves in London." She's not exactly wrong. A scroll through #royalbaby on Instagram does indeed prove that that is what happened.
Although Cummings was making light of the royal baby hoopla, others were not even the slightest bit excited about the royal baby's arrival. Television personality Piers Morgan, for example, had this to say: "Trying, but currently failing, to muster up a semblance of enthusiasm for this royal baby story before tomorrow's [Good Morning Britain]. Hopefully Meghan will announce her son is identifying as a gender-fluid vegan before we go on air." An hour later, Morgan retweeted the royal family's birth announcement and followed up with a tweet, asking, "Did anyone inform Thomas Markle, the child's grandfather?" Well, this is awkward.
Jeremy Corbyn and Nicola Sturgeon
Prime Minister Theresa May and British Labour Party politician Jeremy Corbyn don't always see eye to eye on politics. Nevertheless, Corbyn, like May, found the royal baby's arrival worth celebrating — which has left some British social media users scratching their heads.
"Congratulations to Meghan and Harry on the birth of their baby. I hope they're all doing well," Corbyn tweeted. It was a seemingly innocuous statement, but criticism soon rolled in and people began dubbing him a "monarchy-hating" politician. These comments likely stem from Corbyn having previously revealed his desire to see the monarchy done away with after Queen Elizabeth II's reign ends (via Express). Of course, this doesn't sit well with fans of the royal family. But, as one Twitter user pointed out, "You can oppose the monarchy and congratulate a couple on the birth of their child."
In addition to English politicians expressing their congratulations to the new parents, the First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, also tweeted about the news: "The birth of a baby is a joyful occasion — congratulations to Harry and Meghan." Sturgeon even added a baby boy emoji for some extra flair.
Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland
Ahead of baby Sussex's arrival, it was rumored that Meghan's mom, Doria Ragland, had arrived in London to be there for the birth of her grandchild. Citing an anonymous source, The Sun claimed that Doria was "absolutely going to be there for her [daughter] at the birth." The source allegedly added, "Meghan also wanted to show off her new house to her mum and the two have been enjoying spending time together."
The royal family remained mum on the subject until officially announcing the birth of Meghan and Harry's son. "The Duchess's mother, Doria Ragland ... is with Their Royal Highnesses at Frogmore Cottage," the official royal birth announcement on royal.uk read. The statement further revealed that Meghan's mom "is overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild." No doubt the new grandmother is looking forward to spending time with her little grandbaby and beloved daughter.