Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their firstborn earlier this week and revealed his name shortly after introducing him to the world.
They managed to remain tight-lipped over their preferred names for Baby Sussex, announcing they’d chosen Archie Harrison Montbatten-Windsor only after he met his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth on Wednesday afternoon (May 8).
Read more: Royal fans defend Meghan and Harry as their baby name choice Archie is branded “chavvy” and “common”
It’s since emerged that the Duke of Sussex actually dropped a subtle hint about the name Archie several months ago.
During the Aukland leg of the royals’ trip to New Zealand in October, they met a boy called Archie Somerville-Ryan.
Speaking to Channel 5 News about his encounter with the couple, Archie said Prince Harry: asked all of me and my sisters, ‘What’s you name?’, and then we answered back, ‘Scarly, Beth and Archie’. And then he said, ‘Archie, I like that name’. And then when it all ended, my mum said, ‘Imagine if they call it Archie’.
"Harry asked me my name – then said, Archie, I like that name"
Is this Kiwi schoolboy the inspiration for the royal newborn's name?
This Archie met Meghan and Harry while they were visiting New Zealand and may have left a lasting impression. #BabySussex pic.twitter.com/cBv0b6v06I
— Channel 5 News (@5_News) May 9, 2019
Speaking further, Archie said: “[Harry] said, ‘Come on Meghan, these guys want to give you some roses’ cos we had roses in our garden. He introduced our names and things to Meghan and kind of, like, nodded sort of when they said our names.”
Some now think that Prince George, eldest son of William and Kate and cousin to little Archie, might have been in the know, as he joked to a dog walker he met last year that his name was Archie.
According to The Sun, the name has always held some significance for Meghan.
The paper reported that her mum, Doria Ragland, used to have a rescue cat by the name of Archie and they adored it.
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A source claiming to be a former close pal of the duchess told the publication that the cat became “an important part” of their household, adding that it was “no surprise” she named her newborn Archie.
That being said, they might have simply liked the sound of it. It’s a shortened form of Archibald which, according to the website BabyCentre, has Scottish and English origins and means “bold” or “brave”.
No one knows the baby’s official title yet, although it’s believed he could be given the title of Earl of Dumbarton.
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