Prince Archie could have had wildly different name as Harry and Meghan 'couldn't decide'

When Prince Archie was born five years ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle nearly gave him a different name as they were undecided.

The beautiful boy was born at Portland Hospital in London at 5.26am on May 6, 2019. Eventually, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to name him Archie Harrison, along with the Royal Family's official surname Mountbatten-Windsor. But years later, Meghan admitted the two parents were torn between a few options.

Speaking to Invictus Games competitor Sherry McBain, 42, during the competition in The Hague in April 2022, she said she still loves the name Harrison. Sherry, who lives in Southampton, said: "She was like ‘Harrison, that’s Archie’s middle name’, and Mandy was like ‘Yeah, I know’. They were just having a chat because Harry and Meghan couldn't decide between Archie and Harrison for the first name."

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Meghan reading from the book Duck! Rabbit! to Archie on his first birthday
(Image: DUKE AND DUCHESS OF SUSSEX/AFP v)





Harry and Meghan with their two children
(Image: alexilubomirski/Instagram)

Meghan chatted to Sherry, a nursing officer in the RAF, during a children's book reading event organised as part of the Invictus Games. Sherry said: "My little boy Harrison was just over the moon that a princess has read him a story, so that went down really well with all the UK children.”

She said Meghan was "really open" and "very friendly" at the event. She explained: "Harrison was drawing pictures and telling her that it was a picture of a tram. I don't think it quite looked like a tram, so she was very gracious and said that’s a brilliant tram, so he was delighted."

Sherry, who has been taking part in sitting volleyball and archery for Team UK, said of the Invictus Games: "It's made a massive difference for me. It's the difference in the fact that I'm still serving. I was diagnosed with delayed complex PTSD. This journey has just meant that actually I can still live a life instead of hiding, and not stepping out of the house and just being broken.

"I owe so much to the Invictus Games and everything that it has done for me and for my family." Archie means "genuine", "bold" and "brave" and is German in origin. Short for Archibald, it is now given as a name in its own right. Harrison means "son of Harry”, so its inclusion in Archie’s full name is likely to have been a tribute to the duke.

Archie entered the top 10 names for boys in England and Wales for the first time in 2020, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Archie saw a surge in popularity, jumping 10 places from 19th to ninth. There were 2,944 babies named Archie in 2020, up from 2,544 in 2019.

Harry and Meghan named their daughter – born on June 4, 2021 – Lilibet "Lili" Diana. Lilibet is the late Queen's family nickname and the couple refer to their daughter as Lili.