Baby Archie brought joy during a difficult year for Harry and Meghan
The couple spoke of their struggles with royal life, with the duchess saying ‘It’s not enough to just survive’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have had a turbulent year, with the high point being the arrival of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
But the lows have included rows over privacy, rifts with relatives, the launch of legal action and an attack on the press which overshadowed an official royal tour.
– Pregnancy
Meghan kept busy as she geared up for the birth of her first child.
She carried out visits to her new patronages, including Smart Works, which provides high-quality interview clothes and training for unemployed women in need.
And at the charity One25, the duchess came up with the idea to write personal messages of love and empowerment for street sex workers in Bristol to find on bananas in food parcels when they access night outreach support.
In early March, the duke and duchess joined the Queen and other members of the royal family at a special reception in Buckingham Palace to mark 50 years since the Prince of Wales was invested with his title.
– The Royal Baby
Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on May 6 weighing 7lb 3oz.
Buckingham Palace announced Meghan was in labour just before 2pm, but in fact the duchess had already given birth more than eight hours earlier at 5.26am.
He added: “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.”
Archie was not entitled to be an HRH nor a prince.
Harry and Meghan chose not to use the courtesy title Earl Dumbarton, which Archie was allowed to use, nor to style him Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, making a personal decision he should be a plain Master.
– Privacy
Harry and Meghan kept Archie’s birthplace a secret, but inevitably his birth certificate later showed he was born at the private Portland Hospital in London.
Privacy was also a key part of the royal christening, which was held in July in a small chapel inside Windsor Castle.
Royal baptisms are traditionally private, but Harry and Meghan went one step further by going against convention and deciding not to announce Archie’s godparents, with the couple facing criticism from some quarters.
Photographs were taken by their personal wedding photographer Chris Allerton, with a couple of images released publicly afterwards.
– Frogmore Cottage
The duke and duchess faced further problems when it emerged in financial accounts that the refurbishment of their new home, Frogmore Cottage, had cost taxpayers £2.4 million.
Republic, which calls for an elected head of state, questioned why the public’s money had been “thrown” at Harry and Meghan, while public services were under financial pressure.
– Royal duties and charity work
Harry began working with US chat show queen Oprah Winfrey on a mental health documentary series for Apple, while Meghan guest-edited British Vogue, bringing together 15 women for the cover for the September edition entitled Forces for Change.
The duke told chimpanzee expert Dr Jane Goodall he will only have two children, for the sake of the planet, as he interviewed her for Meghan’s version of Vogue.
The duchess launched her Smart Works high street clothing range in aid of charity, stepping out wearing some of the capsule collection, made up of four pieces of clothing, and a bag – which sold out online within hours.
Harry and Welsh rugby star Gareth Thomas united in a new Terrence Higgins Trust film to mark national HIV Testing Week.
– Rifts and changes
There were big changes for Harry and Meghan behind the scenes as reports of problems first between Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge, and then Harry and his brother the Duke of Cambridge refused to subside.
The Sussexes split their household from Kensington Palace, setting up their own at Buckingham Palace with a separate head of communications and their own SussexRoyal Instagram account.
Sources denied there was a feud, saying it was “largely about preparing both couples for their future roles, which are obviously on divergent tracks”.
But William, Kate, Harry and Meghan’s joint Royal Foundation venture was intended to harness the star power of the four high-profile royals.
– Private jets
Harry and Meghan faced a row in the summer over their use of private jets after taking four flights in 11 days, despite championing environmental causes.
Sir Elton John escalated the situation by stepping in to defend them, saying he provided them with a private flight to “maintain a high level of much-needed protection”.
– Royal tours
Harry and a heavily pregnant Meghan went on an official overseas tour to Morocco in February.
The duchess celebrated her pregnancy by getting a henna tattoo – a good luck gesture from her Moroccan hosts, and the couple also had an audience with King Mohammed VI.
In the Nyanga township in Cape Town, the duchess gave a rousing speech to young women who have benefited from an initiative teaching them self-defence and female empowerment.
Speaking publicly about her mixed race heritage, she told them: “I want you to know from me I am here with you as a mother, as a wife, as a woman, as a woman of colour and as your sister.”
The duke was in all-action mode as he travelled on a South African Maritime Police Unit Rib at Kalk Bay Harbour.
Baby Archie stole the limelight as he received a tender kiss on the forehead from Archbishop Desmond Tutu while in the hands of his mother.
– Legal action
The couple’s high-profile tour to Southern Africa, carried out at the request of the Government, was overshadowed on the penultimate day.
It was announced Meghan had begun a lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday over an alleged breach of copyright and privac, after it published a private letter between her and her estranged father.
The newspaper said it would be defending its case vigorously.
Harry later filed his own proceedings at the High Court, against News Group Newspapers, which owns The Sun and the now-defunct News of The World, and Reach plc, which owns the Daily Mirror, in relation to the alleged illegal interception of voicemail messages.
– Television documentary
In an ITV documentary filmed on their Africa tour, the couple opened up about their struggles.
US-born former actress Meghan said she had tried to cope with the pressures of her new royal life by putting on a “stiff upper lip”, but she was not prepared for the intensity of tabloid interest.
She admitted to feeling vulnerable, saying: “It’s not enough to just survive something, that’s not the point of life. You have got to thrive.”
The duke, questioned about an alleged rift with the Duke of Cambridge, said he loved his brother dearly but they were “on different paths” and have “good days” and “bad days” in their relationship.
He described his mental health and the way he deals with the pressures of his life as a matter of “constant management”.
It was announced the Sussexes and Archie would be spending Christmas with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, and not with the Queen at Sandringham, and later Harry and Meghan began a six-week break from royal duties to recharge.
Celebrity support
Harry and Meghan might have had their troubles this year, but they had no shortage of celebrity fans.
They met Beyonce and Jay-Z at the European premiere of Disney’s The Lion King, with Beyonce telling them: “We love you guys.”
Former US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said of Meghan that she wanted to “put my arms around her. Oh my God, I want to hug her”, over the alleged racist and sexist treatment she faced.
American comic Ellen DeGeneres also backed the couple, saying: “I mean I can’t tell you how sweet they are. But the most important thing is I got to hold Archie. I fed Archie. I held Archie.”
She added: “And I just hate it, I see them get attacked and it’s not fair.”
– What next?
Harry and Meghan will be launching their Sussex Royal foundation in 2020, continuing their legal actions against the press, and perhaps adding to their brood.
Plans are also being made for the duke and duchess to spend an extended period abroad at some point, possibly in Africa, as a way of harnessing their international appeal and expanding on their Commonwealth work.