Good on Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for having baby Archie THEIR way and not submitting to tradition

WELCOME to the world, baby Archie! And huge congratulations to Harry and Meghan.

Also, congratulations are due for breaking with royal tradition and doing things their way, and not submitting to being photographed outside the Lindo Wing within hours of giving birth.

Some say if you marry into the Royal Family, a public life goes with the territory. But we must try to find a balance.

The royals have long-established traditions and do not like change.

But given how intense life is for new parents, who can blame Meghan and Harry for wanting to enjoy it alone for a bit?

Most women avoid cameras for weeks after giving birth. So having a photo taken, under pressure to look gorgeous, scrutinised from every angle, just a couple of days after giving birth? That is a huge ask.

I didn’t get out of my pyjamas for a week both times after I had children.

Harry and Meghan did a fantastic job introducing Archie to the world.

I loved how Harry carried his baby in, already the hands-on father he wants to be, alight with the joy of new fatherhood.

However, it was impossible not to think about how wonderful Diana would have been as a grandmother.

The birth of a son must be bittersweet for Harry, knowing Diana will never meet Archie.

While some grumbled about the two-day wait to show off the baby, others recommend a “babymoon” for parents to shut out the rest of the world and bond with their baby for a week or two.

Something tells me that would have been Meghan and Harry’s preference, so this was a compromise.

They understand they are public figures.

Archie is seventh in line to the throne and his parents know that taxpayers, who in part pay their salary, expected to meet the baby at some point.

Most of us only wish to send our love, wish the new parents well and share the moment with them.
Most people, that is.

Within hours of the birth, Meghan’s half-sister had suggested the new arrival meant Meghan was morally obliged to reconnect with her father, Thomas Markle.

Let’s be clear. Meghan doesn’t have to do any such thing.

She is better off without a father she can’t trust.

If your own family are not up to scratch, you make your own based on love, trust and happiness.

LOOK OF SHEER HAPPINESS

Given how happy Meghan and Harry look with Archie, they are doing just fine with that.

A couple of things really stood out for me about the way they introduced their baby to the world.

First, didn’t Meghan look amazing in her Grace Wales Bonner-designed dress?

I love the fact she chose white, which clearly showed her post-baby bump.

She knows what a role model is.

And she knows better than to create unrealistic aspirations for women who have just given birth.

After all, most mothers still have the bump for at least a few weeks after having a baby.

Then there was the look of sheer happiness on the Queen’s face as she looked down at her new great-grandson.

Even with her many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, she radiated a delight she shares with grandmothers up and down the land.

It was just beautiful to behold.

Tyra still has it at 45

MAMMA mia! Looking at the cover of Sports Illustrated’s annual swimsuit issue – featuring model and entrepreneur Tyra Banks – it’s impossible to believe Tyra’s first cover was 23 years ago and she came out of “modelling retirement” for the shoot.

The very idea of wearing a yellow string bikini – at any age, let alone 45 – is unimaginable to most of us mere mortals.

But if you’ve got it, flaunt it . . . and Tyra certainly still has it.

Surgery too high a Price

I AM increasingly convinced the only way to grow old gracefully is simply to accept that it’s happening.

So I feel bad for Katie Price, who at 40 had another facelift last month in Turkey.

On Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain, the ex-model discussed her “addiction” to plastic surgery.

She explained how she had her own fat injected under her eyes and had the side of her face “lifted” in a bid to look more youthful.

It sounds horrific. Choosing to have serious surgery to look a bit younger is baffling.

Maybe she feels defined by her looks and will do anything to hang on to them.

When I look at pictures of Katie or watch her on TV, I wish she would be kinder to herself and love herself more.

She should worry more about how she feels than how she looks.

She needs a best friend – someone who knows everything about her and still loves her – to tell her to stop scratching the wrong itch.

Katie should give up the plastic surgery and learn to love herself the way she are . . . wrinkles and all.

Chop-sticky point

NOT sure I’ll be taking up Lisa Snowdon’s tip for keeping an eye on how much she eats – using chopsticks for every meal instead of a knife and fork.

The TV presenter, 47, says they slow down her eating, so she feels full more quickly.

But what if you are having soup?

Grampa Gregg

I HAD a chuckle about the fact that Gregg Wallace’s favoured comment on his wife Anne-Marie’s Instagram account is the suggestion that she print out a photo.

Someone has compiled a mega-tweet of the many times he has commented on his 32-year-old partner’s photos, demanding she “print it”.

When it comes to social media, that sort of defeats the object.

Gregg, I feel for you. It’s hard getting older – and it sucks not understanding the modern way of doing things.

Donald is a lost leader

WHEN Donald Trump refused to publish his tax returns, I assumed it was because he didn’t want people to know how much money he had.

It turns out it was because he had so little.

His tax returns reveal he “lost more money than almost any other American taxpayer for a decade, after his hotels and casinos racked up 1.17BILLION dollars in losses”.

So not quite the billionaire he claims he is . . .  or the ace businessman.

Young see boozers as losers

PERHAPS the most surprising news of this week is that although more alcohol is now being drunk around the world, we Brits are not responsible for the rise.
We are drinking less than we did ten years ago and the general consensus seems to be that our new-found moderation is down to millennials being more restrained in their drinking than their parents, which feels right to me.

We call them snowflakes but, very often, the young people I meet are much more focused and impressive than my generation ever was.
Lots of them have a very keen sense of where they want to go in life – not to mention their own websites, blogs and, half the time, their own business plans.
They go to pubs less and don’t feel the need to drink at home but, mostly, they understand about health in a way their parents’ generation never did.
Alcohol is not good for you, it makes you do daft things, you feel rubbish the next day and it’s damned expensive.
It has the power to dissolve marriages, families and careers.
Is it any wonder youngsters have wised up?
If they just stopped carrying knives, they would be all-round superstars.

Sexless Brits

APPARENTLY it’s not just booze we Brits are giving up. Thanks to technology, we are now having less SEX than ever before, too.

A major study found there has been a steep decline in rates of intimacy since 2001, with fewer than half of Britons now having sex once a week.

Scientists said that “life in the digital age” was partly to blame – with couples now too distracted by Netflix, social media or their phones to focus on each other.

But seriously, if you prefer Netflix or your phone to sex with your partner... well, it’s time for a divorce, I’d say.