The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the parents of a baby boy, born weighing 3.3kg (7lb 3oz). Prince Harry said his new son was “absolutely to die for”. Meghan was safely delivered of the seventh in line to the throne at 5.26am on Monday, Buckingham Palace announced. The new royal, an eighth great-grandchild for the Queen, 93, and the Duke of Edinburgh, 97, was “a little bit overdue”, according to Harry, who revealed they were “still thinking about names” and confessed he had only had “about two hours’ sleep”. The couple, who had decided not to learn the gender of their baby beforehand, announced the birth on their Instagram account, @SussexRoyal, with the words: “It’s a BOY!” , adding that they were “overjoyed”. By the time Buckingham Palace announced just before 2pm that the Duchess of Sussex was in labour, she had already given birth hours before. Harry later confirmed the news at a hastily arranged press conference. Speaking from Windsor, where they recently moved into their new home, Frogmore Cottage, Harry said: “I’m very excited to announce that Meghan and myself had a baby son this morning, a very healthy baby boy. The announcement on Instagram of the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first child. Photograph: @sussexroyal “Mother and baby are doing incredibly well. It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined. How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful to all the love and support from everybody out there. It’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody.” On a name, he said: “That’s the next bit … The baby is a little bit overdue, so we’ve had a little bit of time to think about it.” The couple planned to make another announcement on Wednesday “so everyone can see the baby”. Describing what it was like to be present at the birth, Harry said: “This is definitely my first birth. It was amazing, absolutely incredible, and, as I said, I’m so incredibly proud of my wife. 01:34 Prince Harry after Meghan gives birth to boy: ‘Absolutely over the moon’ – video “As every father and parent will ever say, you know, your baby is absolutely amazing, but this little thing is absolutely to die for, so I’m just over the moon.” Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, who flew in from her Los Angeles home for the birth of her first grandchild, is at Frogmore Cottage supporting her daughter. She was said to be “overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild”. The baby is a fourth grandchild for the Prince of Wales. Meghan’s estranged father, retired lighting director Thomas Markle, was quoted by the Sun as saying: “I’m delighted to hear that mother and child are doing well. I am proud that my new grandson is born into the British royal family and I am sure that he will grow up to serve the crown and the people of Britain with grace, dignity, and honour. “God bless the child and I wish him health and happiness, and my congratulations to my lovely daughter Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry, and God save the Queen.” No details of where the duchess gave birth were released by Buckingham Palace, but the wording of the announcement fuelled speculation she had opted for a home birth at the couple’s newly renovated residence in Windsor. The place of birth is likely to be revealed on the official birth certificate. In one unconfirmed report, the Daily Mail claimed Meghan’s hopes of having a home birth had been dashed and that the baby had been delivered at an exclusive central London hospital, possibly the Portland. The report claimed the couple had been driven to the hospital on Sunday afternoon, accompanied by Ragland, but returned to Frogmore Cottage within hours of the dawn birth. A combination of pictures shows the congratulatory banner message circling the BT Tower. Photograph: Daniel Sorabji/AFP/Getty Images The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and the late Diana, Princess of Wales’s siblings, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Earl Spencer, had all been informed and were delighted with the news, Buckingham Palace said in a statement. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were looking forward to meeting their new nephew, Kensington Palace said. An Instagram post on @KensingtonRoyal said: “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted with the news of the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son today, and look forward to meeting the latest addition to the family.” There were also congratulations from across the Atlantic, with Michelle Obama, the former first lady, tweeting: “Congratulations, Meghan and Harry! Barack and I are so thrilled for both of you and can’t wait to meet him.” The baby’s title is expected to be the Earl of Dumbarton – as the son of a duke, he is entitled to use one of Harry’s lesser titles as a courtesy title – and his surname is expected to be Mountbatten-Windsor. He will will one day inherit the title of the Duke of Sussex from his father. Speculation that the baby was overdue was fuelled on Friday when Harry, who has an official visit to The Hague scheduled for Thursday to launch the one-year countdown to the Invictus Games 2020, cancelled a visit to Amsterdam on Wednesday, which would have necessitated an overnight stay. Television crews work outside the Long Walk, Windsor Castle, following the news of the birth Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA The couple announced in April that they had “taken a personal decision” to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private. The wait had been a challenge for royal commentators faced with a paucity of facts beyond only that a royal birth was imminent. The couple made clear there would be no hospital steps photocall with the newborn, as there was with William and Kate and their three children.<doc-sep>Asked what it was like to be present for the birth, he laughed and said: "I haven't been at many births. This is definitely my first birth. It was amazing, absolutely incredible, and, as I said, I'm so incredibly proud of my wife.<doc-sep>Read: Thoroughly modern Meghan The British tabloid press has covered the royal family’s nuptials, pregnancies, and supposed feuds with an ardor that has occasionally trespassed into belligerence. In the 1980s, Princess Diana felt so beleaguered by the media’s focus on her pregnancy that the queen’s press secretary had to have a word with the country’s notoriously prickly press. It wasn’t always so. In a different era, Elizabeth’s first pregnancy was announced in a more understated way: “Her Royal Highness the Princess Elizabeth will undertake no public engagements after the end of June,” the palace announced. But in recent years, a media frenzy has accompanied every royal wedding and childbirth. Tens of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic tuned in to Harry and Meghan’s televised wedding last year, just as they did for that of Prince William and Kate Middleton in 2011. What is new, however, is the context: After months of seemingly inescapable Brexit coverage, the arrival of “Baby Sussex” has given Brits a welcome reprieve from the impasse over the country’s exit from the European Union. Though it traditionally takes a few days for the public to learn the name of the child (and people have already been guessing), a number of other questions are likely to dominate the royal-baby conversation going forward: Will the child have a royal title? (This will be decided by the baby’s great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.) If so, where will the child be in the order of succession? (Seventh.) Will the baby hold dual nationality, and if so, will he be required to pay U.S. taxes? (Possibly!) Read: What Meghan Markle means for the royal family “The arrival of Baby Sussex will indeed be a distraction—especially since this is being unusually handled,” Richard Fitzwilliams, a commentator on royal affairs, told me ahead of the child’s birth, adding: “It’s lasted for such a long time already, and now we’ve got into a state where week by week, there’s so many unprecedented votes in the House of Commons [related to Brexit], and so many question marks [about the nature of Britain’s exit from the EU], and no one has the faintest idea what’s going to happen. So with the baby, you’ve got something to cheer.”<doc-sep>LONDON — Prince Harry could barely contain himself. Facing a news camera to announce his son’s birth, he rubbed his hands together, bounced on the balls of his feet and seemed unable to stop himself from grinning, even for a second. “It’s been the most amazing experience I can ever possibly imagine,” he said, standing in front of the stables at Windsor Castle, where two black horses nodded behind him. “How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, and we’re both absolutely thrilled,” he said about his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex. The duchess, he said, was “amazing,” and the birth “amazing,” and the love and support from the public “amazing.” Then he turned to go, so addled with happiness and sleep deprivation that he appeared to thank the horses.<doc-sep>
The infant is now seventh in line to the British throne and Queen Elizabeth II’s eighth great-grandchild. Harry is the younger son of Prince Charles — the next in line to the throne — and the late Princess Diana. The birth marks the completion of Harry’s transformation from troubled teenager to committed military man to proud father. He has long spoken of his desire to start a family. He and his older brother, Prince William, along with their wives, are seen by many in Britain as the new, fresh face of a royal family that had become stodgy and aged. They are raising the next generation of royals amid a genuine groundswell of public support for the monarchy. Meghan in particular represents a change for the royals: She is American, older than her husband, divorced, and comes from a biracial background. RELATED VIDEO: Royal baby announcement goes up at Buckingham Palace She also achieved considerable success in her own right before agreeing to a blind date with Harry that changed both their lives. Meghan had an important role in the popular TV series “Suits” and had a wide following even before she joined the world’s most famous royal family. The pair was married at Windsor Castle a year ago this month. In April, they moved from a house on the London grounds of Kensington Palace to Frogmore Cottage, which is on the property near Windsor Castle where they held their wedding reception. Journalists and well-wishers have camped out for days in Windsor, about 35 kilometers west of London, awaiting the baby’s arrival. Kensington Palace has said the new parents don’t plan to pose for a photograph or appear in public with their baby for several days. Officials say senior royals including Queen Elizabeth II have been informed of the birth, as has the family of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana. B.C. royal watchers delighted Meantime, people from across the globe are reacting to news of the birth, with royal watchers in B.C. among them saying they’re delighted with the arrival of the little duke. “We’re rather excited about the anticipation that has finally come to fruition,” President of the Royal Commonwealth Society of Vancouver Island, David Spence, said. While the anticipation of the birth might be over, focus is now shifting to what the baby will be named and what title he will be given. “It’ll be up to her majesty, and to the baby’s parents, whatever title or titles might be coming forth his way.” Spence believes the baby’s American-British heritage will expand global appreciation and respect for the royal family. The child is eligible for dual British-U.S. citizenship if Meghan wants to go through the application process. “This will open up some global network of understanding and appreciation, respect of diversity as well as inclusivity,” Spence added.