THAT’S A HANDS ON MUM!
Radiant and elegant just two days after giving birth – and body language that speaks volumes
MOST mothers of a twoand-a-half-day-old baby are barely able to get their slippers on, let alone shoe-horn their swollen feet into a pair of 5in nude stilettos, or cantilever a still-bruised body into a pair of Spanx.
But the Duchess of Sussex is no ordinary woman. She’s certainly not going to let the small matter of having only just given birth get in the way of looking her fabulous best.
And so it was that with not a hint of support-stocking in sight, looking about 24 as opposed to her actual age of 37, she introduced Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, every inch the superstar.
Meghan is a big fan of wearing white for significant occasions – she wore it when the couple announced their nervous to be entrusted with such engagement – and yesterday was an important and complex task – no exception. but Meghan’s constant touch,
Again, not a colour most new guiding him to their place in front mothers would attempt. Again, of the cameras and then leading Meghan is not most new mothers. him from the room afterwards,
Her sleeveless tuxedo dress was, was no doubt a great source of like the rest of her, immaculate. reassurance for him.
At least she didn’t have to worry If the setting for the much anticipated about negotiating those vertiginous photocall – the majestic St heels at the same time as George’s Hall at Windsor Castle – carrying her precious little bundle felt a tad stuffy, with its crimson of joy. Harry, proud father, took carpet, wood panelling and stern care of that, holding his son in the marble busts, the duke and crook of his right arm as one might duchess presented a thoroughly hold a priceless Ming vase. Like relaxed and modern tableau of any new dad, he looked a little new parenthood. Garlanded in smiles, beautifully coordinated in stylish shades of white and grey, the three were an Instagram dream come true with Baby Sussex himself swaddled in snowy, soft-focus cashmere.
Even Meghan’s manicure was an elegant shade of pearl, much in evidence as she caressed her little one’s head and clung demurely to her husband’s arm.
We didn’t get to see much of the newborn himself, although enough to denote a faint blue shadow on his upper lip – a telltale sign of the bane of every new mother’s life, wind. Truly his mother’s son, he delivered a faultless performance, slumbering angelically throughout his debut.
Was that a glimpse of his grandfather Thomas’s button nose? Only time will tell. As Harry pointed out, babies’ faces change constantly in the first few weeks.
Stylish and radiant as she was, Meghan did nevertheless seem a little impatient to get away from the cameras and the inevitable questions. And who can blame her? Whatever you think about the royals, however much they have a duty towards the public on important occasions such as this, having a baby is fundamentally a deeply human, personal experience.
The duke and duchess are new parents like any others.
Why wouldn’t they want to escape the scrutiny of the world and retreat into that wonderfully special baby bubble?
These early days of a newborn’s life are truly magical – especially when, like Harry and Meghan, you are profoundly in love. Of that there can be little doubt. Their body language spoke volumes about two people deeply invested in each other and their new family unit.
More than once, the duchess caught her husband’s eye, seeking reassurance, and gazing adoringly at him was he spoke of his joy. Likewise, he gazed down at her, clearly in awe of his wife.
Unlike the occasions when Prince William introduced each of his three children to the world on the steps of St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington, this felt like a much more private, more intimate moment.
PERHAPS it’s something to do with the secrecy surrounding the details of Baby Sussex’s arrival, but also maybe to do with the nature of Meghan and Harry’s own relationship with the media, which is so different from that of William and Kate’s.
The Cambridges have always been much less fussy about their public image. They’ve always been happy to fall in line with convention when it comes to showcase royal moments.
Meghan and Harry are different. They are determined to do things their way, to establish a new modus operandi, to rewrite the script to suit them and ensure the pressures of public life don’t undermine their very happiness.
It looks like they might just be succeeding.