Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are getting ready to celebrate a special family milestone this week as their daughter, Princess Lilibet, marks her fifth birthday.
The Duchess of Sussex gave fans a rare glimpse into birthday celebrations last year when she marked Lilibet turning four on June 4. Meghan shared a series of personal photographs alongside a previously unseen hospital video, offering an insight into the happy moments before her daughter’s arrival.
Harry has previously revealed that welcoming Lilibet into the world was a very different experience from the one they had with their first child, Prince Archie.
In fact, by the time their daughter arrived, the couple felt far more relaxed and confident than they had during their first journey into parenthood.
View this post on Instagram
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”.
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.
Although becoming parents for the first time naturally came with its own nerves, it appears the experience helped prepare them for a much calmer second birth.
Meghan Markle felt ‘calmer’ ahead of Princess Lilibet’s birth
On June 4, 2021, the couple welcomed their daughter Lilibet at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California. By then, Meghan and Harry had stepped away from royal life and were settled in America full-time.
According to Harry, that change made a significant difference. Away from royal schedules, expectations and media attention, the couple were able to approach the birth on their own terms.
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 duke also described how the hours leading up to the birth mirrored scenes later seen in Meghan’s 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 atmosphere before the birth, Harry admitted he experienced a moment of panic 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 he was ready to play his part when the moment arrived. As labour progressed, he recalled reflecting on the double meaning of the word “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.”
As Lilibet began to emerge, Harry said his attention immediately turned to her wellbeing and to encouraging Meghan through the final moments 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 later explained that the doctor guided him through the final stage, allowing him to help bring his daughter into the world. According to Harry, he was the first person Lilibet 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: Poignant connection Princess Eugenie’s son Ernest shares with Meghan and Harry’s daughter Lilibet
What do you make of Harry’s account of Princess Lilibet’s birth? Tell us what you think on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix.