Meghan Markle's 'calmer' birth with Princess Lilibet that was very different to Archie's
Lilibet was born after they left their royal duties...Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are parents to two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, with the couple preparing to celebrate a family milestone this week as Lilibet turns five.
Last year, the Duchess of Sussex offered followers a glimpse into birthday celebrations when she marked Lilibet turning four on June 4 by sharing a collection of photographs alongside a previously unseen hospital video.
In the hospital footage, Meghan appeared notably relaxed. According to accounts from the couple, that sense of ease may have reflected a very different mindset in the run-up to Lilibet’s arrival.
By contrast, their experience ahead of Archie’s birth appears to have been markedly different, making Lilibet’s arrival a far calmer chapter for the family.
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What was Archie’s birth like?
Meghan gave birth to Archie at London’s Portland Hospital on May 6, 2019. It’s believed while Meghan bounced on a pregnancy ball, Prince Harry tried some of the nitrous oxide gas that was to ease her pain.
He said Meghan was “so calm”, as was he.
He wrote in his memoir: “I saw two ways of enhancing my calm. One: Nando’s chicken (brought by our bodyguards). Two: A canister of laughing gas beside Meg’s bed. I took several slow, penetrating hits.”
Harry also revealed: “When her contractions began to quicken, and deepen, a nurse came and tried to give some laughing gas to Meg. There was none left. The nurse looked at the tank, looked at me, and I could see the thought slowly dawning: ‘Gracious, the husband’s had it all.'”
But instead, Meghan got an epidural and they welcomed Archie into the world. They even managed to secretly leave the hospital and get to their then-home Frogmore Cottage a mere two hours after the birth.
While they may have been anxious beforehand, it seems the experience helped them have a calmer mindset when the time came to have another baby.
Meghan Markle ‘calmer’ during Princess Lilibet’s birth
On June 4 in 2021, the couple found themselves welcoming their little girl Lilibet into the world at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California. By this point, they had already left their royal lives behind and lived full-time in America.
Because of that, they were living away from royal protocol and could do things at their own pace. And so, they didn’t feel as much pressure.
Harry recalled: “When the big day came, we were both surer, calmer – steadier. What bliss, we said, not having to worry about timing, protocols, journalists at the front gate.”
The prince wrote about what he and Meghan got up to right before Lilibet was born, and it matches the duchess’ recent social media video, which she has been slammed for.
He penned: “We drove calmly, sanely to the hospital, where our bodyguards once again fed us. This time they brought burgers and fries from In-N-Out. And fajitas from a local Mexican restaurant for Meg. We ate and ate and then did the Baby Mama dance around the hospital room. Nothing but joy and love in that room.”
Harry’s fears during Lilibet’s birth
Despite the calm nature pre-birth, Harry spent some of the time worrying that something was wrong, especially as he helped deliver his daughter.
Harry had told Meghan that he wanted to be the first person Lilibet saw when she was born, and so he quickly got ready to be just that in the hospital. But at the time, he recalled thinking about the double meaning of crowning.
He wrote: “I went and stood beside the doctor. We both crouched. As if about to pray. The doctor called out: The head is crowning. Crowning, I thought. Incredible.”
It was at that moment that Harry first saw Lilibet, and his initial reaction was one of concern that something might be wrong. In his account of the birth, he explained that he focused on encouraging Meghan through the final stages of labour.
Harry wrote: “The skin was blue. I was worried the baby wasn’t getting enough air. Is she choking? I looked at Meg. One more push, my love! We’re so close.”
He went on to explain that the doctor guided him through the next steps, allowing him to help bring Lilibet into the world. According to Harry, he was the first person she saw after she was born.
“Gently, but firmly, as I’d seen in films, I pulled our precious daughter from that world into this,” Harry said.
Read more: Sad connection Princess Eugenie’s son Ernest shares with Meghan and Harry’s daughter Lilibet
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