Prince Harry breaks tradition, holds Baby Archie in official photo proving he's going to be a hands-on dad
Prince Harry beamed with joy as he and the Duchess of Suxxex Meghan Markle presented their baby boy Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor to the world in their first official family picture on Wednesday.
The proud father, in the latest photoshoot, showed that he is going to be a hands-on dad as he broke tradition and held the newborn in his hands.
All the new mothers in the British royal family, typically, hold the baby in their arms in the first official pictures. We saw a precedent of the same with Princess Diana and with the Duchess of Cambridge when she presented Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louise to the world in the first official pictures, with Prince William standing beside the duchess.
The royal fathers do hold the baby in the first photo shoot but traditionally the first picture of the shoot is taken with the baby in the mothers' hands.
Mark Bowden, an expert in human behavior and body language, said that beneath the perfect first picture of the family lies a deep connection.
"Look how carefully and gently Harry's thumb strokes the swaddling of the child. Look how carefully and gently Megan's thumb strokes the child's head. Look as they depart how Megan places her hand on Harry's back and then uses the same thumb stroke on his back. Now we can see that beneath this media setup there is care and connection between the parents and the parents and the child," Bowden said.
He warned that any individual moment cannot be an indicator of a relationship. "Of course, a moment in time is no complete indicator of how any parent will perform over time."
Meghan, during the photo shoot on Wednesday, told the media that she has "the two best guys" as she posed with her husband and their son for the first official photos at Windsor Castle.
The Duchess of Sussex, in the pictures, can be seen putting her arm around Prince Harry as she touches her son's heads with the pair smiling for the cameras. Baby Sussex, whose name is still not public, was wearing a soft wool white hat and was wrapped in a white cloth. The baby boy was born on Monday, May 6 at 5.26 am and weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces.
Shortly after the birth, Prince Harry held an impromptu press conference to announce their baby's arrival and the Duke of Sussex was visibly overjoyed as he told the reporters outside the hospital: "It's been the most amazing experience I can ever possibly imagine."
The new father could not contain his excitement as he reiterated: "It was amazing. As every father and parent will ever say, your baby is absolutely amazing ... I’m just over the moon."
He also mentioned Meghan's health and said that what she's done is beyond comprehension: "How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, and we’re both absolutely thrilled.”
The newest addition to the family is seventh in line to the throne, following Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince Harry. The royal baby is Queen Elizabeth II's eighth great-grandchild.