Royal baby news: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry forced to deny claims they ‘stage managed’ Archie’s birth
Buckingham Palace answers eight queries surrounding birth of baby Archie
HAS there ever been a couple more full of contradictions than the Duke and Duchess of Sussex?
So determined were Prince Harry and Meghan to protect their privacy during the birth of their firstborn they even released a statement beforehand insisting the public (who pay for the bulk of their very luxurious lives) would not be finding out much about it.
Then within hours of Archie’s delivery, their new highly paid American PR was accused of stage managing the whole announcement for a US breakfast TV show hosted by OPRAH’s best friend.
It’s almost too ludicrous to believe.
Before I go on, I must stress that, like virtually everyone in the western world, I am above anything else happy for the couple.
As an older new mother, Meghan had a happy and healthy birth, with her delightful mom Doria by her side. And Harry now has the family he has craved for so long, which will hopefully provide him the focus and peace he needs to be happy.
The obvious joy and pride he showed speaking to the cameras at Windsor following the birth – surrounded by the Queen’s beloved horses – will become an iconic piece of footage of his life.
For the public it was the final piece of the puzzle in seeing the broken young lad walking behind his mum’s coffin in 1997 transform into a sparkling and highly popular man.
But if this couple is going to blindly throw out decades of royal tradition and use our money to run their household like a royal version of KIM KARDASHIAN and KANYE WEST then it is right for the media to ask questions about the shambolic announcement to find out what went wrong.
So this week I posed eight key questions to Buckingham Palace about the announcement, which they have answered below. You can be the judge about what really went on.
QUESTION: Why did Harry and Meghan’s American PR Sara Latham promise to alert the media the moment Meghan went into labour, only to wait around 12 hours to do so?
ANSWER: We have always made clear the wish of The Duke and Duchess that the birth would be a private event, as stated in our Royal Comms Operational note issued on April 10 – “Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private. The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had the opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
The Duchess had gone into labour in the early hours of the morning during the pre-agreed media blackout period. The labour announcement was predominantly for operational purposes, to trigger the opening of the media facility.
QUESTION: Why did she then seem to lie about it by eventually announcing Meghan was in labour nine hours AFTER she had actually given birth?
ANSWER: She didn’t. Media reporting inferred that The Duchess was in labour, not our announcement. The announcement stated that: “The Duchess went into labour in the early hours of this morning. The Duke of Sussex was by Her Royal Highness’s side. An announcement will be made soon.”
QUESTION: Was the announcement delayed until 1pm in time for the American breakfast TV shows in New York at 8am?
ANSWER: No. The announcement was timed to suit The Duke and Duchess, after their family and friends had been informed.
QUESTION: Had CBS This Morning been tipped off about the due date and birth plans in order to allow presenter Gayle King to fly to the UK and film a primetime special?
ANSWER: No. CBS are making a programme to commemorate TRH’s first wedding anniversary.
QUESTION: When an email failure meant the media could not be alerted at 1pm that Meghan had gone into labour (even though she had actually given birth at that point), why not speak directly to news organisations on the phone?
ANSWER: As we advised, there were technical issues with the announcement. We have apologised to the media who were affected. When we realised the email had not been sent we tried to contact as many people as quickly as possible.
QUESTION: Why in the period between the “in labour” announcement being broken by Sky and the Instagram post announcing the birth, did Buckingham Palace press officers officially deny any birth?
ANSWER: We would only ever confirm the birth following an official announcement. Instagram was also not how the birth was announced, it was done via an official announcement.
QUESTION: Was the 12.40pm (7.40am in New York) embargo on little Archie’s first appearance put in place to maximise coverage on the US morning TV shows?
ANSWER: No. The photo call at 1200, with embargo of 1240, was timed to fit around the timing of the Sussex’s visit to Windsor Castle to introduce their son to his great grandparents.
QUESTION: Given Prince Harry spoke publicly about the birth in such lovely detail, why not inform the media of where it took place in order to stop speculation and unnecessary false reporting?
ANSWER: We have always said the birth would be private in accordance with the express wishes of the parents and made it clear on the day we would not be releasing this information. In this context, it is very unfair to blame individuals for stories which the press chose to run.
Many people will rightly not be worried about the minutiae of this debacle – they’re interested in the historic pictures and cute words from Harry and Meg.
But for the media this is a question of trust and respect.
So the next time we hear the Sussex couple bellyaching about privacy, please remember this is a couple who appear to pick and choose what parts of their life are private and will work with the media when it benefits them to do so.
