Harry and Meghan Detail ‘Abuse’ They Received for Not Taking Traditional Hospital Photo With Archie

15.12.2022 - 22:51 / usmagazine.com

Giving some context. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared the reason that they didn’t follow royal family tradition by taking a photo on the hospital steps after the birth of their son, Archie.

“There was already the pressure of the picture with Archie on the steps, and ‘Are they gonna do that, are they not?’ … But I had been really worried going into that labor because I’m older and I didn’t know if I’d have to have a C-section. And I had a very long-standing relationship with my doctor and that’s who I trusted with my pregnancy,” Meghan, 41, said in episode 4 of the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which aired along with the rest of volume 2 on Thursday, December 15.

“And [the palace] said, ‘Right, but she’s at Portland Hospital and the steps are at this hospital.’ I said, ‘OK, we could do a photo call in front of Portland Hospital.’ And they said, ‘It’s impossible. We couldn’t barricade these streets off, and it would create a threat for the emergency room entrance, because that’s where you would have to do this picture,'” the Suits alum recalled. “We said, ‘OK, what’s the hybrid? Can we give them more time at the castle?’ And everything in turn was like, ‘Yes. Yes, great. Oh, yes.’ At no point did someone go, ‘Absolutely not.’”

The Duchess of Sussex and Harry, 38, thought the palace was on board with their plan for Archie’s introduction to the world after his birth in May 2019. However, they still received criticism for not going the traditional route.

“The amount of abuse that we got, especially [Meghan], but both of us, for not wanting to serve our child up on a silver platter, was incredible,” said Harry.

The couple — who relocated to the United States in March 2020 after stepping down from their roles as senior