Nicholl: Royal reporters are still salty about Prince Archie’s birth

In 2019, there were royal reporters having complete and total meltdowns over the “secrecy” around the Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcoming baby Archie. Fully grown adults had been gleefully taking part in a massive smear campaign against a pregnant woman, then they were flabbergasted when Meghan and Harry’s people were squirrelly – for about six hours – about when she entered the hospital, when she gave birth and when she went home. During the Oprah interview, Meghan explained some of what was going on behind the scenes, and she indicated that they were not “asked” to do a hospital photocall:

Oprah raised the question with Meghan, asking if her decision to forgo the customary photos was the start of her and Harry wanting out of their senior royal roles, “It feels to me like things started to change when you and Harry decided that you were not going to take the picture that had been part of the tradition for years?”

Meghan, having already explained that it was the royals’ decision not to give Archie a title, which also meant he wouldn’t have security, said in response, “We weren’t asked to take a picture. That’s also part of the spin that was really damaging. I thought, ‘Can you just tell them the truth? Can you say to the world you’re not giving him a title, and we want to keep him safe, and that if he’s not a prince then it’s not part of the tradition? Just tell people and then they’ll understand’… But they wouldn’t do that.”

Continuing on, Oprah asked Meghan, “Was there a specific reason why you didn’t want to be a part of that tradition? I think many people interpreted that as you were both saying we’re going to do things our way?”

The Duchess then explained that she was afraid for her baby’s safety: “That’s not it at all. I think what was really hard… so picture, now that you know what was going on behind the scenes, there was a lot of fear surrounding it. I was very scared of having to offer up our baby knowing that they weren’t going to be kept safe.”

[From Cosmopolitan]

While I still have questions, I assumed that there were discussions among staffers and the family that Meghan should NOT do the hospital-pose photos and she was like “sure, okay, whatever.” As for the brief secrecy around the birth… I get why reporters were mad (they were lied to), but I also get why Harry and Meghan were like “f–k y’all, I don’t have to tell you anything, especially not about the baby.” I bring all of this up because Katie Nicholl’s The New Royals devotes a section to this bullsh-t. Much like Valentine Low and the other members of the rota, Nicholl doesn’t seem to want to include Meghan’s own words in her narrative:

Royal expert Katie Nicholl wrote about the royals’ birth experience in her upcoming book, “The New Royals: Queen Elizabeth’s Legacy and the Future of the Crown.”

“One source described Harry as being ‘almost morbidly obsessed’ with keeping Archie’s birth as secret as possible,” she wrote, according to an excerpt obtained by Page Six. However, the secrecy broke an “unwritten contract between the royals and the public.”

“Behind the scenes, matters were so fraught that more than one official — as I know from personal experience — was reduced to tears of frustration and despair,” Daily Mail’s royal editor Rebecca English added in the book.

Prince Harry, Markle and their newborn baby were expected to pose on the steps of the hospital hours after the duchess gave birth for photos. However, the two decided not to participate on May 6, 2019.

“Harry had always enjoyed outfoxing the media,” Nicholl explained. “He and Meghan were thrilled to be safely delivered of their son in London’s private Portland hospital even before the palace press office had confirmed the duchess was in labor.”

Instead, Harry and Markle debuted Archie at Windsor Castle whenever the Duchess of Sussex felt prepared. The occasion featured one journalist and one photographer. “But it all felt stage-managed, with pre-approved questions, one journalist, and one photographer,” Nicholl wrote in the book. “It demonstrated the growing gulf between public expectations of Harry and what he felt obliged to give.”

[From Yahoo News]

Nicholl is putting the onus on Harry and Meghan, when Meghan absolutely made it sound like some of it was not her call at all. I actually liked the photocall at Windsor Castle with the baby though – it seemed less stressful for the new parents, and shouldn’t that be the priority, especially given that the pregnancy was so massively stressful? Anyway, it’s ridiculous that these people are still bitching about two first-time parents wanting some privacy on the day they welcomed their firstborn.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

135 Responses to “Nicholl: Royal reporters are still salty about Prince Archie’s birth”

Comments are Closed

We close comments on older posts to fight comment spam.

  1. Harla A Brazen Hussy says:

    Imho, the KP press team bungled this so badly and threw the new parents under the bus to deflect their incompetence.

    • tolly says:

      I agree. The Sussexes notified the right people when Meghan was in labor, and those petty clowns withheld the announcement because they had to tell the queen first and she was asleep. The rota was inclined to blame the Sussexes anyway, and the press office never clarified that they decided when to release information.

    • Becks1 says:

      I don’t even think it was KP at that time. I think they were under BP by that point.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        Yes. They would have been under BP or maybe CH then (CH was where their mail was being directed to I believe). You know who wasn’t mad that there were technical difficulties with the email announcing Meghan was in labor – Rhiannon Mills. (excerpting from a Marie Claire article in 2019-before MC was bought by a London co.) This may have been addressed in the BBC’s The Princes & the Press story too.
        “Like everyone else, Rhiannon Mills, a royal correspondent for British network Sky News, didn’t get the palace’s email on time. She’d already been hanging around Windsor, a town an hour west of London where some of the royal family live, for a week waiting for Meghan to give birth. On the crucial day, Mills was at lunch with Max Foster, a rival reporter from CNN, when, around 1:40 p.m., her cell phone rang. It was Julie Burley, a member of the Sussexes’ press team. “Are you in Windsor?” Burley asked urgently. “Could you get a camera up to the castle?” Mills stiffened, suddenly alert. “Yes, that’s fine. Why?” she replied. “Because of the update I’ve just sent out,” Burley said.”

        “Mills was puzzled. She hadn’t received an email. She asked Foster if he had. Nope, he said, no update. “I haven’t got this email, but what does it say?” Mills asked. “Oh, it says that the Duchess of Sussex went into labor this morning,” Burley said. As Foster would later tell her, Mills visibly paled. Swiftly making excuses, she ran out of the restaurant, leaving him to pick up the check. With one cell phone clamped to her ear and another at her fingertips, she texted her cameraman while calling the Sky News offices. “I was like, ‘Break it; she’s in labor,’” Mills recalls. Then, she logged on to Twitter—becoming the first person in the world to tweet that Baby Sussex was on his way.”

        “Mills had scooped them all. Even the Press Association didn’t tweet about Meghan being in labor until 13 minutes after Mills. While she is coy about rivals’ reactions—“I will take my hat off and say that there have been moments when others have broken royal stories and you think, Oh, damn, I wish that was me,” Mills demurs—a source tells MC the royal press pack was furious.” Mills was the only one at Windsor Castle doing a live feed-she wasn’t invited inside though.
        Hmmm….didn’t the Cambridges (at the time) just have a bit of show with the kid’s new school involving one photographer, one camera (person) and a reporter from the PA. Is doing that only okay when it’s being done out of pettiness to make a dumb@ss point? The whole photo thing right after birth is ridiculous in the first place.

  2. Lorelei says:

    Do these people ever just GET OVER ANYTHING??

    • equality says:

      Nope. Only H&M are supposed to get over things that affect THEIR lives directly and these people’s only circumstantially.

    • dee(2) says:

      Nope and never will because they feel like they are owed something. That’s why the goal posts constantly change regarding their press intrusion, and why when they aren’t given everything they want they trot out that privacy lie. They feel like H&M owe them information about their lives, and the fact that they have nothing to hold over them infuriates them.

    • Chaine says:

      No, Archie will be 80 years old and on his deathbed and royal reporters will be writing his obituary as “prince Archie whose mother cruelly refused to tell the British people when her water broke”

      • Love says:

        Screeeeaming!!!😂😂

      • SugarHere says:

        “More than one official was reduced to tears of frustration and despair”: Newborn Archie made white officials cry, you guys. Can somebody explain that transgenerational Markle curse that makes dainty Caucasians want to fall on their sword? According to that Nicholl hag, a few-hours old creature had the power to be some sort of mental health hazard for grown-ass officials. I’d be laughing if it wasn’t overly grotesque.

        Blaming Meghan and now her baby for causing white tears and disruption in Wonderland, has become a racist pattern. It sounds public like incitement to resentment, hatred, and even violence.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      LOL @ Lorelei. Nope, nope, nope. They’ve been banging on daily for years about the Sussexes. The Sussexes make comments once in a blue moon and it’s called ‘constant attacks’.

      RR’s/BM need some BetterUp coupons.

  3. Gillysirl says:

    Do these people ever listen to what is coming out of their mouths?

    “Hours after going through the extreme physical experience of giving birth, she needs to show up, with the baby, looking fresh and happy, on the steps of a hospital.”

    Why do they think ANY mother owes them that? That’s just insane.

    • Carnivalbaby says:

      It’s interesting to me how alot of what the Royal Family does makes sense when I put it next to House of Dragon. Last week a woman delivered a baby and had to present it to the Queen to confirm some bachanal. (Dont want to say more for spoilers) But it was the same premise. Show me proof of life. This is some archaic nonsense.

      • The Royals are Ghouls! says:

        I know, right!? House of the Dragon is probably closer to reality than The Crown at this point.

      • Nick G says:

        I think this every Sunday night!

      • pottymouth pup says:

        gosh, this makes me think that perhaps the firm did this intentionally and didn’t make whatever arrangements for the “standard” photo call immediately post birth because they wanted a chance to actually see Archie in person (for “reasons”) before he was seen by the public

      • Chica says:

        It’s actually a little different in HotD. There was a reason she summoned the Princess and her newly born baby so soon after its birth. It had nothing to do with being a like the BRF, even tho I agree the BRF give medieval times a run for their money with their anachronisms. The Queen summons R bc she wanted to see the baby’s hair which would allude to….

      • mia girl says:

        @Chica – yes, true… There was a specific reason why Queen Alicent wanted to see Rhaenyra’s baby just after birth, but to @pottymouthpup’s point, we know what at least one high ranking member of the RF questioned about Meghan & Harry’s baby… so maybe there was a reason behind the RF wanting to see the Archie before he made a public debut.

      • Anna says:

        This scene came to my mind too. They would be thrilled if royal women came to press conferences with a baby in arms and still bleeding on the floor! This is beyond creepy that they are so intrusive about someone’s labor and delivery, I mean a human is exiting her body and they need details about when, where and how.. and Harry was obsessed with privacy… He doesn’t owe them every detail about this very private moment of his life and I would be obsessed too if RRs were trying to literally barge into delivery room and film everything.

    • BeanieBean says:

      And it’s not a tradition. Diana was the first.

  4. UNCDANCER says:

    These people are insane! Imagine being brought to the point of tears of frustration and despair about announcing the birth of a child that is not your own to people who have no relation to him? Crazy!

    • equality says:

      Just more big, bad Meghan made somebody cry BS.

    • Barbara says:

      That part made me laugh. Imagine being an adult in the news industry and shedding literal tears of frustration over not knowing someone else’s baby news. It reminds me of all these supposedly bullied staffers crying and trembling because they got early morning emails.

  5. Chic says:

    I really love the picture and realistic post-baby pic
    I so over the RR, KH, KCIII

    • Queen Meghan's Hand says:

      And of course she wore a belly-friendly trench coat dress! I love these pictures, too! On the first episode of the Archetypes podcast, Meghan said she didn’t enjoy being pregnant, but she looks AMAZING!
      (This photo set also makes me think of Hilaria de España de Boston and her pictures…)

  6. C says:

    Stage-managed? How was their appearance with Archie any more stage-managed than the hospital poses with any of the Cambridge newborns?

    • equality says:

      Oh, come on. They were all so natural. Every woman gets up from giving birth, dresses in fancy clothing, and takes a newborn outside for fresh air and to be breathed on by numerous reporters.

      • Noki says:

        I remember when George was born and William was holding him and Kate was beside them and he told her ‘Stand up Straight’ i was disgusted and shocked it never got picked up. Probably scrubbed from the innanets by now. William is a jerk,i hope New Dark Kate is giving him hell now after treating her like she should be ever so grateful to be chosen.

      • Flower says:

        @Noki please tell me this is a joke ?

        And she stayed and birthed two more with this clown ?

      • Poppy says:

        What bollocks! I just went and watched the whole post-birth video with George and at no point does he says anything of the kind!

    • sparrow says:

      I think Kate never recovered from the backlash (from some quarters) for her just out of hospital appearance with George when, oh no, her roots were showing because she intended to breastfeed and was worried hair colour could contaminate breast milk. I really admired her for that. Last time I did! The backlash seemed to be directed by some man claiming she wasn’t maintaining herself properly as a royal woman, even just after giving birth. I think he was a beauty expert or photo editor. From then on, the next couple of babies were introduced by Kate with full on make up and blow out. I thought Meghan’s photo was lovely. She was glowing.

      • Becks1 says:

        And that’s sad bc those are some of my favorite pics of Kate, with George on the steps. Her hair looks natural, her face looked tired but happy, etc. Despite the circus around her, she looked pretty relatable for a new mom in the summer, you know? Sundress, loose hair, etc.

      • Flower says:

        Sadly I feel this tradition started after Diana was caught leaving St Mary’s after Wills birth.

        I don’t think she was expecting the media onslaught bc she was still in her surgical support tights. That aside Diana looked so happy and relatable.

        I like Meg’s pictures with Archie also because they showed how happy and natural she looked post birth. She was so radiant and happy – just like Harry.

      • C says:

        Huh? I was in England when this happened and I never saw this backlash. The only thing anyone had to say was about her dress paying homage to Diana.
        Later on there were a few stories about her roots but that was it, they were about official appearances afterwards.
        She had full makeup and blowout for George’s “presentation”. She was just more tan.

      • Becks1 says:

        @C there was some backlash and it was stupid then and its stupid now just thinking about it. It was from a very specific region of the internet. Most people with a grain of sense were praising her for doing that so soon after the birth and for looking pretty natural at the same time. (hair loosely blown out, less heavy eye makeup, etc.)

      • C says:

        I do not remember any backlash about her hair after giving birth in 2013. A little digging confirms what I remember – which is that the only backlash about her hair from that year I remember was about her roots and “gray hair” at the Poppy Day event in 2013. Which was still stupid, but she had not just given birth. The reason I remember this is because shortly after that event, she had a 6-hour $985 cut and color at the Rossano Ferretti salon, and everyone said it was because of the Poppy Day criticism (including Vanity Fair). And the only reason I remember *that* is because I was much more into hair then than I am now, but I didn’t then (and still don’t now) know what cuts and colors require 6 hours and $1,000, lol.
        So who knows.
        She still had the same heavy eye makeup etc that she wore back then and blowout. What I WILL say that I found refreshing then was that she didn’t choose a dress to hide her bump which of course a pregnant woman still has immediately after delivery. The subsequent “appearances”, she made sure to cover it.

    • AnneL says:

      Noki, he told Kate to stand up straight?! JFC. Maybe if he’d ever gone through labor he would get how horrible that is. “Yeah, I just pushed your kid who is the size of a melon out of my vag, but please feel free to criticize my posture as I stand here in heels presenting our baby likes he’s a trophy to all these people. Oh, and I am so sorry about my roots showing! I guess my hair is more important than our baby getting safe nutritious milk from my breasts!”

      What a sick thing to do to women.

    • Queen Meghan's Hand says:

      A photocall for an infant, an HOURS OLD BABY SHOULD BE STAGE-MANAGED.
      Please goddess let the pound fall for every stupid Low/Nicholl/Royal Rota book that is sold.

      • Noki says:

        @Poppy I am telling you he said that ,i just went to search again i only found a three minute one. There was a much longer one as they were walking by talking to the press. It was clear as day,Kate was a little hunched over and he said quickly STAND UP STRAIGHT almost under his breath. I was shocked that it had stayed for quite sometime and I guess it was finally scrubbed.I posted it here years ago and alerted the timeframe to go to. These people are awful on their own ,i have no need to make up any fiction.

      • Agreatreckoning says:

        @Queen Meghan’s Hand,yes, let the pound fall for every stupid remark by any royal rota/BM person for any idiotic remark they made about Meghan, her pregnancy and expectation of her (and Harry) presenting their newborn to satisfy a public “need” or BM’s/RR’s need to earn $’s. It’s gross all around. I’m equally disgusted that any woman around the world is expected to work performatively or simply expected to just get back to work right after having a baby. All women should be granted more compassion and dignity.

  7. Plums says:

    It’s not about getting an accurate picture of what happened, which is why they all pretend the things Meghan actually said about what was going on don’t exist, because it contradicts their narrative.

    Even so, it’s crazy to me that they think their frustrated entitlement to a hospital picture, and how it reduced people to tears that they didn’t get it, comes across as sympathetic or relatable at all. They sound insane.

  8. equality says:

    Imagine waiting until the mother “feels prepared” to appear in public after giving birth? How terrible. Maybe she should have stumbled out in the hospital gown with the umbilical cord still attached?

  9. C-Shell says:

    Nicholl, Low and the rest of the 🤡🤡🤡 are freaking GHOULISH with this obsession. Now that it’s **well known** that Meghan was suicidal while heavily pregnant, that they were already being denied protection and security, with the pack of wild dogs hounding them 24\7, who in their right mind would subject their baby to that rabid pack??!! We know they just wanted to see how dark that wee baby was. Fuck them. Fuck them all.

    • Mymooniagarden@gmail.com says:

      Not only that…Danny Baker didn’t even hide his racism with the monkey on hospital steps…disgusting idiot

  10. Tessa says:

    Diana and Sarah both did the photo ops at the hospital steps and Kate did later it is not mandatory since other royal women did not have these photo ops

    • ROAA says:

      I think most of the royal and aristocratic women did that useless tradition, from Anne, Lady Helen Tyler, Sophie and even Charles Spencer’s first wife. I don’t think that even Meghan and Harry should have presented their baby at Windsor Castle, they could have only released a picture as a family of 3 and that would have been enough.

      • SomeChick says:

        You’re mistaken. Diana was the first to do it and Kate copied. It’s not a tradition and no one else did it.

      • Concern Fae says:

        Diana demanded that the birth take place in a hospital. There was a huge fuss over it at the time. Of course, hard to say if that was real or just tabloid drama. TQ had given birth at Buckingham Palace, with a room converted to have all the equipment a hospital delivery room would have. The photocall was basically because the press knew she was there and mobbed the hospital. The difference in the photos of her leaving the hospital with William and Harry are astonishing and sad.

      • Athena says:

        @somechick. There’s a picture of Anne on the steps of St.Mary’s hospital with baby Zara. There are pictures of Fergie and Andrew on the steps of the Portland Hospital with baby Beatrice. Sophie and Edward at Frimley Park Hospital with baby James and there’s also a picture of them coming out of the hospital with baby Louise. ROAA is not mistaken, others did it not just Diana an Kate. Just google it. Tattler has all the pictures.

  11. girl_ninja says:

    Of course those trolls are still upset about this. Another thing they couldn’t control, another tradition that they couldn’t exploit.

    The photo call at the palace was perfect and quite honestly the best one I have seen them roll out. I ALWAYS found it weird that they would have to press converge onto the street outside of the hospital. On the STREET?!? Really?

    And like Meghan shared in the Cut. Why would I share my baby with people who call him the N-word before sharing a photo with the people I love?”

    Why indeed?

  12. ThatsNotOkay says:

    The kids who would not be prince and princess do not belong to the public. They will have no public role, so why offer them up when they would not have any of the security that is attached to those with HRHs and other public roles? That’s what I got out of what Meghan was saying and also, it’s none of the press’s business.

    • Becks1 says:

      This is really the best explanation for it – clear and succinct – and if the palace had put out a statement like this, it would have helped. “There are no plans for the child of the Duke and Duchess to have a public role or to become a working royal at any point in the future. As such, the birth is a private event.”

      I mean honestly its so gross that a birth has to be clarified to be “private,” and I think the expectations on Kate were super gross.

      • Nic919 says:

        I stopped feeling bad for Kate when she threw Meghan under the bus over this issue. That interview where she basically said she was so grateful to be able to present her kids lion king style in response to question about Meghan not doing that revealed Kate’s true bitchy colours and her anti feminism. Kate could have easily said that it was something she wanted to do and that she understood why not every woman wanted to do that. But she didn’t. Because she is not an ally to women.

      • Becks1 says:

        Oh I don’t feel bad for Kate because I think she wanted that moment, but I feel bad that the expectation was even there, you know? I don’t think its a tradition that should have ever started.

        And yeah her comments on that podcast were super bitchy and I don’t think she would have said that had Meghan done the whole hospital-steps-presentation thing. She wanted it to be known that she was “grateful” (i.e. Meghan was not) and so on, like you said she could have said something very different that was respectful of both choices but this is Kate so nope.

      • sparrow says:

        Nic919. Wow. I didn’t know Kate had said that about taking her babies out to meet the press and casting Meghan in a bad light for not doing the same. Agree with you, she should have said each to their own way of doing things, particularly from one mum to another.

    • Amy Bee says:

      @ThatsNotOkay: So true. But the Palace threw Harry and Meghan under the bus instead.

  13. Snuffles says:

    It always boils down to the fact that these people don’t view Meghan and Harry as human at all. Especially, Meghan. Her entire pregnancy was a living hell. It’s a miracle she didn’t have a miscarriage. They were getting credible threats from neo-Nazi’s who thought the royals having a mixed race child was an affront to humanity.

    Forcing them to present Archie to an uncontrolled crowd of thousands of people with active threats and after the immense stress that she was under was a non-starter. But the RRs couldn’t give a shit about any of that. They wanted those pictures, they wanted to see Archie’s skin color, they wanted to judge Meghan’s post birth look and compare her to Kate. They wanted that MONEY and anyone getting in the way of that would receive their never ending ire.

    A pack of hyenas!

  14. Becks1 says:

    Even with George, Kate didn’t present him the first day he was born. It was the second day IIRC. It was different with Charlotte and Louis – Kate “presented” those two the same days they were born I think. But with george she waited until the next day, and they also announced the birth via twitter, which was funny since so many reporters were gathered outside the hospital waiting for the official announcement and then it happened on twitter (and they were not that happy about it.)

    If Meghan did go into labor in the middle of the night or very early morning, of course no one was told. They would have told the queen and probably charles and would not have woken them up to do so. And if it was a quick labor, well then, how is that her fault?

    I do think more emphasis needs to be placed on the fact that doing the hospital presentation wasn’t offered to her. She may not have done it anyway, but it wasn’t on the table and I’m not surprised that Katie Nicholl got that so wrong.

    It’s so emblematic of her life as a royal – she was told something wasn’t an option or don’t do something or whatever and then was destroyed for it in the press without anyone from the office clarifying “this is actually coming from the top down.”

    • Rapunzel says:

      The BRF never denied what Meg said about not being asked to do a photocell, did they? It’s obviously true and a very important factor.

      I’m guessing she was intentionally not asked to do this so the media could trash her for not doing it.

  15. Noki says:

    I have always felt appalled by the hospital step pictures,totally unnessasary for anyone. I once saw the other side of the those photos,literally the worlds press opposite screaming and hanging on ladder and buildings.

  16. Ginger says:

    I love that the press are still salty over Archie’s birth. Maybe Harry and Meghan didn’t feel like accommodating a press that happily smeared a pregnant woman while she was suicidal? And they knew how she felt and still did it.

  17. Jais says:

    Kaiser’s point about Katie Nicholls just ignoring what Meghan said is spot in. They really act as if anything she says is a lie to be attacked or a truth to be conveniently ignored.

    • Nic919 says:

      They do that on everything. Especially the crying story being flipped. They just act like what she said in Oprah is not true.

  18. Amy Bee says:

    What’s being omitted about this situation is the Royal Family didn’t want Archie, hence Harry and Meghan were not asked to do the whole presentation of the baby after birth. I think the Windsor Castle photocall was only put on after the press were outraged that there wasn’t going to be a “Lindo Wing” moment. I think Harry and Meghan took back some control by not telling the staff when she went into labour.

  19. DaniLou says:

    I always thought that one of the reasons they were so salty about Archie’s birth and the photo op in Windsor was because they were so jealous of how well the pictures looked instead of the circus on the steps of the hospital. If memory serves, wasn’t Peggy “incandescent” with how Harry and Meghan handled it? A weird thing to be so obsessed about.

    I thought it was so much more personal how Harry came down and spoke to the press the day Archie was born and then how they did the pictures in a more relaxed, imitate way and introduced Archie to the Queen and Philip. It just felt like Billy and Cathy were mad that they didn’t think of doing something like that, which seems to be the constant issue with their jealousy. Carol was probably also mad that she didn’t get a chance for a photo op with one of her grandkids and the Queen, like Doria.

    • Becks1 says:

      Harry coming down and talking to the press was one of the sweetest moments. He was so genuinely happy and excited and you could tell then he was already so in love with Archie. And the horses!

      I do think that probably made William incandescent yet again; Harry was so much more natural and excited and he came across so well.

      Oh! I think William and Kate were also really ticked at that adorable pic of the Queen and Philip with Archie, Harry, Meghan and Doria. We’ve never seen a picture like of that of Carole with the queen and any Cambridge/Wales baby, so I’m sure that rubbed them the wrong way.

      • DaniLou says:

        It was such a lovely moment and in hindsight I don’t know why he even bothered when the press had been so awful to them for months on end. But he did it, and they still bitched about him and Meghan.

      • Debbie says:

        @DaniLou: If in your comment about not knowing “why he even bothered” the “he” refers to Prince Harry giving a brief and excited statement after Archie’s birth, don’t forget that Prince Harry spoke to a chosen reporter and camera person, so he didn’t speak to the regular RR, and he also relayed additional information that he and Meghan would be in Winsor with their child in a few days. So, there was a purpose.

    • Jais says:

      William was probably incandescent because it made the RR so mad. At that point, he was fully exchanging leaked info for good press. He probably worried how this would affect him. Would the rota go after him for this? Also, he seems to want to control Harry’s life, and in this case, Harry was not allowing himself to be controlled and William could not deal with that.
      Becks1- that was a really cute and natural pic of Archie with the queen Phillip and Doria.

    • s808 says:

      Harry personally announcing M had given birth, looking tired but oh so happy and excited was a really sweet moment. Plus the Windsor castle photo op, the photo with the queen and prince philip….if there had to be a rollout i’m happy it was that, it was great. I’d be mad too for not thinking of it.

      the press losing out was the icing on top.

      • ChillinginDC says:

        The international press loved that and I think that’s another reason why the RR and the now Wales were so mad. I remember thinking it was so sweet.

    • Truthiness says:

      The picture showing the Queen and Philip being absolutely delighted with Archie as Doria looks on is priceless. Doria fits in seamlessly, she’s the anti- Carole who would never trade on access. The Queen and Philip seen welcoming a POC baby is a win for them. Harry is funny, charismatic, and more, his humor and humanity creates social situations that Will can never equal. And it eats him up, then moves on to Kate and Carole. Curses, foiled again!

      This monarchy can’t end soon enough, billionaire land owners who aren’t taxed shouldn’t have ceremonial or soft diplomatic roles. It’s feudal ffs.

    • NemesisPuff says:

      Harry was so giddy and distracted and over‐the‐moon happy… I bet even the RR secretly smiled (or whatever their faces can approximate) when they saw that clip. HE SAID EXCUSE ME TO A HORSE! And I think he even nodded at it right at the end 😂 What pure joy!

  20. Emily says:

    The tradition consisted of two women, one of them a cosplayer of the other.

    I’m tired of the rota making up traditions and protocols to suit themselves.

    • Nic919 says:

      The queen herself never even did it so how can it be a tradition?

      • aftershocks says:

        ^^ Yeah, that’s the crux of all this faux tradition chatter. The only reason it ever started is because the first two royal women ever to give birth in hospitals were Princess Anne, and the Duchess of Gloucester, in the 1970s. Royal women traditionally gave birth in the palaces where they lived.

        Because giving birth in public hospitals allowed the press more access, some enterprising paps and reporters showed up informally and took impromptu pictures of the Duchess of G, and Princess Anne during the sleepy 1970s. Few people, especially non-Commonwealth and non-UK folk paid much attention to those births. Thus most people believe it happened for the first time with Diana.

        Of course, what was different with Diana, was her huge worldwide popularity, and the fact she gave birth to the future heir. Thus, big crowds of journalists and royal fans showed up, again fairly unplanned initially. Diana certainly didn’t like it. She cried in the car on the way home. But it came to be called a tradition, and was looked upon as an expectation and a duty to the public, mainly for the direct line royal babies though.

  21. Lili says:

    Sounds more and more like the staffers messed up on loads of things and the sussexes took the blame and the RR went ballistic and haven’t stopped them they left due to bad treatment a viscious circle that never ends. And no adult in the room to put a stop to the mess and just continues to pile on

  22. Seraphina says:

    I too love this pic due to it having the feeling of less stress and it’s more intimate than on the steps of a hospital.
    And the more I read about the royal house of England, my desire for their end of power grows.

  23. Gabriella says:

    Jeez these courtiers cry about everything.

  24. Julie says:

    Vanity Fair magazine was a favorite. I canceled yesterday. In the box as to why –

    You employ Katie Nicholl, who feed the racist trolls that attack MM.

    • Tan says:

      Good call. I use to love reading their entertainment and film criticism but after Nicholls it’s just left a sour taste in my mouth

    • EveV says:

      @Julie
      I’m sorry that you no longer are subscribed to your favorite magazine, but I think it’s awesome you made a stand and got them where it hurts for employing a whack ass RR. So glad you told them exactly why too!!

  25. HeatherC says:

    I’m sorry, “reduced to tears of frustration and despair” over a newborn that’s not yours and isn’t the heir? Just say it straight Katie.everyone was crying tears of rage because no one has the scoop on how dark Archie was at birth

  26. Over it says:

    Katie Nichols, the palace courtiers and all the rest of salty bitches in the uk and the Australian media and those also from the American media who continue to come for Harry and Meghan and their children can just go right ahead and kiss Harry, Meghan and their children asses. These people are getting on my last nerve

  27. Blujfly says:

    Lolool Windsor Castle was stage managements? Versus the weeks of stage management and ladders set up waiting for George and then William’s big dad moment putting the baby in the car and driving away? It’s all stage managed. The public is well aware.

  28. Mina_Esq says:

    Oh no, more “tears” were shed. Ugh, these RR are vile. Same story over and over – Meghan made people cry, Meghan stage managed everything. They need some new material.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Mina_Esq, it seems there were many people who were crying! Perhaps the rrs and the royal courtiers and assistants all got together regularly and cried together commiserating with each other. They do know how this appears, right?

  29. s808 says:

    Yes they were lied to(not that I have any sympathy for that, they made her pregnancy a living hell) but also, by this time, there was talk of changing the convention so never Archie becomes an HRH so the lindo wing photo op really wouldn’t have made sense imo.

    Bottom line is that they’re upset cause they lost out on money. The Windsor castle is far and way the better photo op but there was very limited press there. Everyone wanted their piece of the pie.

    • aquarius64 says:

      Bingo. Add to that the US media was there for Harry’s new dad interview. A successor to the British throne is half American, 1/4 African American so of course US press would be granted access.

  30. W says:

    I’m sorry, I laughed at her saying one official was “reduced to tears of frustration and despair” 🤣 DAMN! Harry and Meghan had everyone in that palace crying and shaking in their boots over some BS 😭Waity was crying, courtiers were crying, RRs were crying. All we need is a ‘Harry made Billy cry’ story. We’re in the year 2022 and these ppl still think using white tears against a biracial woman works.

    But back to the point, Harry and Meghan weren’t even secretive about Archie’s birth even though they had every right to be. Literally hours after Meghan gave birth, Harry did a press conference. And if I remember correctly, Sara Latham briefed a few journalists to set the record straight. She said that they did send an email when Meghan went into labor but the email took hours to deliver, that’s why they got the news late. It’s actually astonishing to see grown folks DEMAND information about a baby and mother who they never cared about and helped push to suicidal thoughts. Vile people

    • Nick G says:

      I have to say in 2022 white tears are still working. One of the most insidious, frightening things I’ve seen this year is how the trolls have run with the story that Meghan bullied Charlotte. It’s like they’re frothing at the mouth with it. The comments regarding footage of Camilla, Sophie and Kate shunning Meghan at the funeral were chilling – I saw people suggesting that they were forming a PROTECTIVE CIRCLE around Charlotte so that Meghan couldn’t lash out at her, fangs and all.
      If these people sound crazy as clowns in a circus, its because the need to bend the truth to what they want it to be I guess makes them lose sense of reality completely.

  31. Pumpkin (Was Sofia) says:

    I really liked the way H&M went about it. Feels far less… intrusive and more personal. And besides, this is over 3 years ago. They didn’t like it: okay but move on now. And didn’t Meghan go into labour early in the morning? I remember reading Archie was born 5am or something. If the palace had notified the rota at 3am, they’d be complaining to Nicholl about how Me-gain the narcissist ruined their sleep by telling them late at night/super early in the morning.

    Edited comment to remove Oprah interview references because Kaiser already mentioned it above.

  32. Lizzie says:

    Cut to 2052 – Prince Archie, whose parents failed to present him as a newborn on the hospital steps, is engaged to be married! ..as reported by the Daily Fail

  33. Well Wisher says:

    It is amazing how people who reduce others to commercial entities, can be narrowed in their view of said ‘commercial entity’ humanity.

    Their needs and expectations are seen as uninvited and unnecessary because of the potential uncertainty and circumstances.

    They very people who are so embittered, wrote articles that had to be painful and mentally upsetting, being fully aware of that the fetus can be affected by a mother’s mental condition.

    They have the nerve to expect that new born parents owe them anything. It was so bad a remembered a staff reporter from the Root commenting that they should hide baby Archie until he is full grown.
    That was before the Oprah Interview, that when I started to comment. One did not need to personally acquainted with Meghan to plea for her humanity.

    The nerve of the embittered means one thing, if given a chance they will do it again.
    No growth, just fear and loathing on the part of the rota, they should be avoided at all costs.
    There is culling everywhere, except rf rota where the pickings are slim, the people with shameful situations are the leakers.
    The people who are the object of leaking have their humanity torn to shreds and one suspect that advert dollars aren’t so forthcoming, not to mention content thieves.
    It is time to cull the pack where royal reporting is concerned, they keep talking about non-working royals (oxymoron) instead of focusing on the ones that ‘work’ and are indebted to taxpayers.

    No one wins except the owners.

  34. MsIam says:

    Nicholls is such a liar. “Harry broke the unwritten contract between Royals and the public”. She means between the Royals and the press and their ability to make money off of the pictures. I support 1000% the Sussexes doing what’s best for their family at such a tender time, the birth of a child, especially the first child. I’m sure the part of the public that’s not derangers feels the same way.

    • Debbie says:

      Katie Nicholl sounds so unhinged all these years later that I wonder how much more money she was anticipating making off of the Sussex family with Archie’s birth.

  35. Islandgirl says:

    Maybe because of concerns over skin colour they were not only hesitant to offer titles but also hesitant to reveal the baby immediately after birth.

    We are very much not a racist family…

    • Athena says:

      Islandgirl. You mailed it. They didn’t ask Meghan to do a hospital photo op because they had concerns over the baby’s skin color.

  36. Dr Mrs The Monarch says:

    It all comes down to business. The press wanted to make money off of a newborn prince and are crying that they were not allowed to exploit a newborn or invade his family’s privacy.

    Now poor Kate Nicholl has to find other ways to earn a living by writing a fantasy novel. She was reduced to tears over this? Because her paycheck was lower that month? Because she couldn’t profit off of strangers? Because she invented a contract in her head that does not exist?

    They owe her nothing. They are human beings, not your product to sell.

  37. Flower says:

    The only reason I can find for the obsession these RR’s have @ Meghan (especially as a bi-racial woman) is that they make A LOT of money from monetising pictures of her and her children.

    I always knew the paps made money from certain public figures but it wasn’t till I started keeping tabs on Meghan that I realised just how lucrative this industry is. And I say industry bc it is literally a whole cottage industry. Some UK reporters have happily built their careers on Meghan and continue to do so.

    It’s disgusting.

    • Sid says:

      There is one rota rat photographer who was complaining on twitter during the early pandemic that the UK government had deemed him ineligible for pandemic assistance because they were looking at his income for the past two years and he made too much. His argument was that it was unfair since during those two years he had made more than he ever had in his career. Those two years happened to coincide with when Meghan (and Harry) was still in the UK and a working royal. The amount of money all these people made off Meghan is unreal. And how did they thank her for it? By harassing her, running hateful stories, and being vile. SMH.

  38. amyb says:

    Princess Anne started the tradition when she walked out of the hospital holding Peter Phillips. https://www.hellomagazine.com/healthandbeauty/mother-and-baby/2020082796139/princess-anne-royal-birth-trend/

    • Tessa says:

      Anne was not high up in the line of succession. Peter was the Queen’s first grandchild, so maybe that’s why he got attention. I don’t think she did the photo call with Zara, I have not seen photos of this.

      • aftershocks says:

        It wasn’t started as some kind of tradition. Anne and soon after, the Duchess of Gloucester, were the first royal women to give birth at hospitals in the 1970s, which allowed the press access they never had previously. A few paps and reporters showed up for Anne, and for the Duchess of G. But it was all on-the-fly, and unplanned.

        As I mentioned earlier, of course the practice became a huge deal that grew in popularity when Diana decided to give birth to her first child at Lindo Wing, instead of at KP.

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      The press lurking around the hospital when the Queen’s only daughter was giving birth and then photographing her when she’s leaving the hospital with her newborn isn’t the start of a tradition. It’s the beginning of an intrusion and misplaced expectations from the press

  39. esline mills says:

    I believe they were not asked to do a photocall, because they thought the baby’s skin was going to be dark.

    • SURE says:

      I think the Windsors didn’t want A’s arrival, and the surrounding media attention, to be on par with that of the Cambridge children. The Sussexes have to be shown their place which is always behind the Cambridges.

  40. ChillinginDC says:

    Man. These people are always crying and left broken. If that’s how they handle minor things maybe working for the RF is not something these people should be doing???

    Also we already know that they were not asked to do it so I am so annoyed at this stupid book.

  41. molly says:

    Who TF cares if the press was “lied to” about when/where/how Archie was born! His birth was nothing more than public interest. The Sussexes are under no obligation to provide the public with up to the second info.

    President of the U.S. is critically ill? Yes, the American public, WHO THEY WORK FOR, deserves to know because that role actually matters to the government of a country.

    Harry was a second tier prince who had a baby that won’t ever be royal. And BTW, Katie, Harry hates the whole lot of you, so you’re lucky you got the access you did.

  42. L4Frimaire says:

    It seems like just bad writing and incomplete not to include Meghan’s explanation of why they didn’t do the photo call. Why wouldn’t Nicholls include that. This is why these books are so bad and don’t sell very well. It’s the same old news even when there is new information out there. I recall at the time there was a lot of fuss about the Lindo wing, including how dare they, they wouldn’t know their place if they did the Lindo and that they were trying to compete with the Cambridges. There’s was a lot of speculation but also preparation to go after them if they did the photo call, which was why the palace released an official statement that the birth would be private. This would have been a more interesting account if Nicholls had included all this, but of course that’s not her goal here. Meanwhile, Archie is now 3, in preschool in California, has a sibling and they’re still stuck on this. Pathetic.

  43. lanne says:

    Diana is on record saying that she was barely holding back tears at the Prince William photocall because she was in so much pain.

    The ownership of the ratchets over the royals, and especially over Harry and Meghan, is ghoulish, inappropriate, and bizarre. No one should be subjected to this unless they choose it in adulthood–all royal children should be off limits, just as all celebrity children should be.

  44. Mel says:

    Making any woman get out of their bed or off their couch to get dressed up and parade their newborn around anyone is archaic and ridiculous. No one should have that expectation of anyone.

  45. Mysons says:

    Absolutely abusive and misogynistic to make these women do press photos hours after they have given birth. Watching house of dragon demonstrated just how abusive and cruel it is to force someone who just gave birth have to work. The misogyny of this tradition and the press that demands it needs to be abolished

  46. QuiteContrary says:

    EVERYTHING is Meghan’s fault.
    Every damn thing.
    (So glad she and Harry are back home in Montecito, where they and their kids are removed from this nonsense.)

    • JRenee says:

      ^^^me too, no more leaks. Only rewording and publishing old information because the hate sells. It’s repugnant the way she is maligned and publicly mistreated!

    • Agreatreckoning says:

      Knowing the mental gymnastics they do to blame Meghan for everything..they’ll find a way to make it her fault that the Cambridges didn’t announce George’s birth until 4 hours after he was born in 2013.

  47. Ungirlin says:

    didn’t Meghan state in the Curve article that she felt no obligation to allow tjose who had called her baby the “N” word to photograph him

  48. Kathryn says:

    Sorry, but can’t imagine giving birth and having to go pose for a photo op within hours. Sounds horrible and H&M went about it in a great way. The public got their photo and mom got to rest a little. Geez!

  49. Tessa says:

    The royal new mother having to stand outside of the hospital posing relatively soon after the birth, was something not traditional–it seemed to be encouraged later on. Princess Elizabeth did not have to go through this, there was an announcement. Later formal photos of her with Philip, baby Charles, and her parents were taken.

  50. Tessa says:

    I don’t think Sarah Duchess of York was happy with this. She looked very uncomfortable at the photo calls in front of the hospital. I don’t see how any of them could be happy with these photo calls. An end should be put to it.

    • Alexandria says:

      Glad Beatrice and Eugenie didn’t do it. Hope Charlotte gets to make her own choice.

  51. Bex says:

    The Royal Reporters aren’t still mad because they were “lied to”. The email was delayed due to some server issue and the palace staff apologized to the press (which is ALSO around the time the UK tabloids were whining about Sara Latham’s hiring and how she worked for Hilary Clinton. The RR loved to tweet about her supposed incompetence, right up until she was hired on by BP when the Sussexes stepped down). They made a mountain out of a molehill and their complaints are and have ALWAYS been unfounded. The palace lies to them every single day and they’re extremely happy to spread the lies.

    What they’re upset about is all the money they would have made if they could sell the first photos, especially since SO MANY PEOPLE wanted to see how dark he would be. They would have made a mint in licensing alone.

  52. Bisynaptic says:

    For “Stay calm and carry on” stiff-upper-lip people, they sure cry a lot.

  53. blunt talker says:

    A British actress whose name I cannot remember-stated no woman feels 100% after giving birth with afterbirth everywhere and bleeding-standing in heels is barbaric for women who have just given birth

  54. Kathryn says:

    This is in no way comparable to the Royal family, take this story and magnify it by 1,000 and you will maybe start to understand TRF. I used to work for a woman whose father (starting in the 1900s) owned an apartment building in NY. Which she lived in (rent free) her entire life before inheriting the building. When I met her she was 91 years old, had lived in the US (in New York City) since she was 14, had never seen the inside of a subway station because her family had a chauffeur and she was driven everywhere, and when I told her I lived a 10 minute walk away from her she said “who washes your windows?” Mind you, my apartment only had one window, a tiny one in the living room and obviously it didn’t even remotely require a window washer. My point being, she was so out of touch with reality, so wealthy for so long that she couldn’t even begin to conceptualize what I, or anyone else could begin to live like. The Royal family is so ingratiated (and I’m in no way defending them) that they can’t even comprehend how most people live. They’re hopeless.

    • Deering24 says:

      F. Scott Fiztgerald and Hemingway were dead-right about the rich. The rich are different, for they have more money.

  55. HennyO says:

    They were abusing her throughout her whole pregnancy, but expected her to show them her newly born child. As Meghan said in the The Cut interview: “Make it make sense then I’ll play that game.”