PITTER PLATTER OF TINY FEET
Meghan Markle said she was expected to ‘serve Archie on a silver platter’ after criticism over christening, book reveals
MEGHAN Markle felt like people wanted her to “serve her child on a silver platter” after she was criticised for keeping baby Archie’s christening private, according to a bombshell new book.
Fiercely protective Meghan made sure Archie’s christening on July 6 last year was a “completely private affair” at the Queen’s Chapel in Windsor Castle attended by just 22 guests, Harry and Meghan’s unauthorised biography Finding Freedom, out today, says.
⚠️ Read our Meghan and Harry blog for the latest news on the Royal couple.
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While she came under attack for breaking tradition and not allowing the media or the public a glimpse of baby Archie on his special day, Meghan didn’t care, according to the book authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.
Instead she told a friend: "The same people who have been abusing me want to see me serve my child on a silver platter.
"A child who is not going to be protected and doesn’t have a title. How does that make sense? Tell that to any mother in the world."
Meghan’s decision caused uproar with those who believed that as the taxpayers part-fund the monarchy, they have a right to see Archie on his christening day, according to the book.
Finding Freedom claims revealed today include:
- Meghan felt people wanted her to serve her child "on a silver platter" after Archie was born
- The Sussexes had to let go of Archie's nanny in the middle of her second shift
- Prince Harry was "delightfully surprised" when Meghan reportedly peed in the woods on their luxury camping trip in Botswana
- The duke started to scout for an engagement ring just six months after dating Meghan
- Harry was stunned after Meghan's estranged family gave a series of interviews criticising the duchess
- Meghan had to undergo SAS kidnapping training after an unusually high number of threats
- She fell for Prince Harry after seeing him play with pal Jessica Mulroney's kids
- The Duchess of Sussex saw Prince Charles as a "second father"
The christenings of most other royal children including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s three children were attended by media and widely publicised.
Instead Meghan and Harry released just two pictures of baby Archie after the christening – a family portrait and an intimate black and white picture of the three of them.
The book goes on to describe how the couple made a similar decision when they decided to keep the 380 members of the press covering their African tour away when Archie was taken to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu, instead taking their own pictures.
Details of Meghan’s own baptism ahead of her wedding to Harry – and her strong faith – are also revealed in the book.
Although she was not brought up religious, friends claim that Meghan has always had a strong belief in God, which helped her get through her “darkest moments”.
Meghan used to pray with one of her best friends at Northwestern University and used to gather the cast and crew of Suits together for a “prayer circle” before starting work.
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She decided to get baptised into the Church of England “out of respect to the Queen”, according to the book and the ceremony was held at St James’s Palace’s Chapel Royal.
While the Queen, William and Kate did not attend the ceremony, there were 18 guests – including Charles and Camilla – present to watch Meghan have holy water poured on her head as a choir performed.
Guests then celebrated at a dinner party at Clarence House, hosted by Prince Charles.
Meghan had to have several meetings with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby ahead of the baptism, where she discussed “personal matters” including her divorce to Trevor Engelson and what she had learned from that failed marriage.
The book also gives a glimpse into baby Archie’s first year of life in which “hands-on” dad Harry was in charge of “changing most of Archie’s diapers” to give Meghan, who was nursing the baby, a break.
Harry liked that to be “his ‘job’ especially as Meghan has so much more to do”.
Little Archie also enjoyed baby swimming lessons and music classes.
Meghan brought him by herself to the Happy Clappy music class in Windsor, where he played with a tambourine while royal protection officers waited outside, the book said.
He also loved being read to by his parents and his favorite book was Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Guarino.
During the couple’s Africa tour, little Archie learned to mimic the sounds of the animals outside during a stay at the high commissioner’s residence in Cape Town.
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Once they left the UK following “Megxit” and moved to the Mille Fleurs estate in Victoria, Canada, worried Meghan and Harry baby-proofed the mansion to protect the tot, who was described as growing “at the speed of light”.
As well as covering sharp edges with “discreet rubber pads” and moving furniture out of the way they also tried to “paparazzi-proof” the property by installing extra fencing.
They proudly boasted to friends how Archie – who they nicknamed Bubba – was in the 90th percentile for his height, according to the book authors.
It has been previously reported how the book told how Prince Harry was “delightfully surprised” when he took Meghan on a camping trip and she took bathroom breaks in the woods.
Meghan, 39, and Harry, 35, have insisted they had nothing to do with the book, while the authors have said they did not speak to them directly.
The palace has not commented on any of the claims reported in the biography.
And Omid Scobie, one of the authors, told Andi Peters on the Lorraine show: "I'm not surprised the palace have necessarily said anything on the record but what has been very noticeable is anonymous comments in certain tabloids trying to discredit the book before it was even out.
"I think that said a lot about the worries about the many truths in this book.
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"We do pull back the curtain on the institution in a way that has never been done before."
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Scobie added: "There's been a lot of talk about the door being open for them to return to the fold if they want to and that's a sign of how close Harry is with Hey Majesty, but I think they are very forward focused.
"The couple are thriving."
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