How they showed off Baby Sussex their way

They reveal name online ... with no royal titles

They have been determined to do it their way from the start.

And yesterday, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex proudly introduced their son, Archie harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world, it was no different.

eschewing normal palace channels, the couple chose to reveal the two-day-old’s name on their Instagram site @SussexRoyal.

They accompanied the announcement with a stunning black and white photograph of the Queen and the Duke of edinburgh meeting their new great-grandson for the first time, along with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland – taken by their engagement photographer, Chris Allerton.

Minutes later, the Queen’s Instagram feed posted the same shot in colour.

On another historic day for the couple and the Royal Family:

harry and Meghan posed with their son in the historic St George’s hall in Windsor Castle, with the duchess declaring: ‘It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy’;

The Duke of edinburgh was the first member of the Royal Family to meet Archie, when the couple ‘bumped’ into him as they arrived for their photo-call;

The couple, accompanied by Miss Ragland who is staying with them at Frogmore Cottage, visited the Queen in her private apartments at the castle to introduce the monarch to her eighth great-grandchild, the Royal Family’s first mixed-race baby;

As predicted by the Mail, the duke and duchess have opted not to give their son a courtesy title and say he will be known simply as Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor;

Aides said the seventh in line to the throne could become a prince when his grandfather, Prince Charles, becomes King, but sources indicated this would be unlikely as the couple are determined that Archie enjoys more of a private life than his royal cousins.

A source told the Mail last night that the couple chose the name Archie because they both love it, but also because it derives from archon – or leader – in Greek. ‘ They were taken with the symbolism,’ the source said.

harrison was similarly chosen because it was favoured by the couple but also because it means ‘son of harry’.

Aides told the Mail that the couple had been firm that their son would not take any of the courtesy titles to which he was entitled, most notably the earl of Dumbarton, which is one of the lesser honours given to harry by the Queen on his wedding day.

It is another example – started by the Sussexes when they announced several weeks ago that they intended to keep details around their child’s birth ‘secret’ – of how they don’t want to be bound by convention or history.

Palace aides still refuse to confirm where Archie was born, three days after he was delivered, although the Mail has revealed that Meghan’s plans for a home birth were dashed and she had to go to hospital, most likely London’s Portland.

Some of the couple’s best-laid plans went slightly awry, however. While their posting on Instagram of the baby’s name at 4.40pm was wildly popular – gathering almost 2 million likes by last night – Buckingham Palace’s hurried attempts to erect a page on its official website were marred by an awkward blunder when it referred to Archie as the first child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – who are, of course, his uncle and aunt.

‘They were taken with the symbolism’