Meghan and Harry’s Obsession with Privacy: The Dark Side of Royal Parenting

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's quest for privacy has been a topic of discussion ever since they tied the knot.

However, their obsession with keeping their son Archie's birth a secret took it to another level.

According to royal expert Katie Nicholl's new book, The New Royals, Queen Elizabeth's Legacy and the Future of the Crown, Harry was almost morbidly obsessed with shrouding the details around Archie's birth.

This secrecy allegedly breached an unwritten contract between the royals and the public, who were eager to hear all the details about the new royal baby as soon as Meghan gave birth.

Matters were so fraught that more than one official was reduced to tears of frustration and despair, added Rebecca English, royal editor of the Daily Mail.

The usual protocol following a royal birth is for the father, mother, and newborn babe to pose on the steps of the hospital, surrounded by well-wishers and photographers, and answer a few questions before driving away.

But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex wanted to change all of that.

When Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born on May 6, 2019, the couple managed to bamboozle the press when he actually arrived.

Harry had always enjoyed outfoxing the media, and he and Meghan were thrilled to be safely delivered of their son in London's private Portland hospital even before the palace press office had confirmed the Duchess was in labor.

Two days later, the couple participated in a brief photo opportunity with a single reporter to ask questions.

But it all felt stage-managed, with pre-approved questions, one journalist, and one photographer, Nicholl continues.

The suit's alum looked tired and uncomfortable at the time.

Similarly, Kate Middleton also confessed that she found the postnatal photo shoots difficult.

However, the Princess of Wales acquiesced because she will one day be Queen and the mother of a king, so there was a legitimate public interest.

Additionally, Markle and Harry had a private christening and refused to release the names of Archie's godparents.

However, Nicholl notes that although the Sussexes may have served an ace in their quest for privacy and tore another page out of the royal notebook, they also damaged the Crown's relationship with the press, the broadcasters, and by extension the public, who felt duped by the experience, whether that was a fair expectation or not.

In other news, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry kept mum over their six-week break from royal duties back in 2019.

The couple, who jetted off on a private plane in November, did not disclose the holiday destination to son Archie's nanny until they were up in the air.

Governor Valentine Lowe in his book Courtiers, The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, shares the Sussexes did not want anybody to know they had left for Canada.

When Harry and Meghan went to Canada for their six-week break in November 2019, their escape plans were already laid, amid the greatest secrecy.

Meghan would not even tell their nanny, Lauren, where they were going.

According to one source, she did not know where they were going until the plane, a private jet, was in the air.

The couple's obsession with privacy has raised concerns about their relationship with the press, especially since the media plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion about the royal family.