Today, the world got its first look at Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, son of Meghan Markle, actress, philanthropist, the Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. The young lad is 7th in line for the throne, and while the Sussexes have decided to not give him any formal titles, once his grandfather becomes King of England, he’ll be formally a prince.
This afternoon Master Archie was introduced to his great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen (Archie is her eighth great-grandchild), his great-grandfather Matt Smith, and his grandmother Doria Ragland, at Windsor Castle. Watching Ms. Doria there made me emotional because it serves as a reminder that no matter how light Meghan’s complexion is, she is still a woman of color, and baby Archie is the first British Royal of African Ancestry, of slave ancestry, to be in line for the British throne, no matter how far down.
Right now baby Archie is just a little round butterball of human imperialism goodness, and while Meghan didn’t show up straight off of the birthing bed, she did make an appearance in heels—in a post-baby glow, baby bump, and full cheeks still there. She looks great, and I’m glad that it seems she got to have the experience she wanted in terms of home birth and having her mother close by.
It has not been easy for Meghan Markle due to the constant barrage of “new:s against her snipping whenever possible, especially considering at any “traditions” she did give in to, and the racist/sexist commentary about her from tabloids. Hopefully, they will have some grace with her being a new mother, but considering the tabloids are trash, we doubt it.
Despite how we can debate the usefulness of the Britsh Royal Family, they are there and I have chosen to celebrate the progress of them modernizing, as someone who has family in places still part of the commonwealth. A few generations ago the idea of having an American divorcee being married to a member of the Royal Family was something that caused a king to abdicate. Now, Meghan Markle a biracial Black woman in her 30s, and a divorcee, is a member of the British Royal Family, with a baby in line for the throne. And she’s a feminist and doesn’t support Nazis in any way.
Suck it, Wallis Simpson.
(image: USA Network)
(image: DOMINIC LIPINSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
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