Did Meghan and Harry Offend Kate and William By Using the Name Archie?

If you have any baby-having friends, you'll already know that hell hath no fury like a parent who thinks another parent "stole" their baby name. (Remember in Friends when Monica graciously "gave" Rachel her baby name, Emma, as a gift?) Well, along with all the other issues that led to the painful rift (opens in new tab) between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's household and Prince William and Kate Middleton's, a new report points out that Kate and Will may have felt snubbed that Meghan and Harry named their son "Archie." The reason? Prince George's nickname had been "Archie"—and this is verified, having been reported well before Archie Harrison was born. (opens in new tab)

Let's back up a little. When Meghan was pregnant with Archie Harrison, The Sun reported in January of 2019 that Prince George had told a passer-by that his name was Archie.  The passer-by told The Sun: (opens in new tab) “I was asked by a police minder not to take a photo of the children, which I didn’t, but George started stroking my dog. Just to be friendly I engaged in a bit of small talk and I asked George what his name was, even though obviously I knew it. To my astonishment he said ‘I’m called Archie’ with a big smile on his face. I don’t know why he calls himself Archie but kids often play with their names and I think it’s lovely.”

That said, "Archie" was one of several nicknames for Prince George; according to multiple sources, George is also known as "PG Tips" (a British brand of tea), and "Georgie" to his family members; he was also known as "little grape" by his parents until he was born. Still, in May of 2019, five months after the confirmation that George's nickname was Archie, Meghan and Harry named their newborn Archie Harrison.

A new report in The Express points out the connection,  (opens in new tab)and speculates that Kate and William might have felt put out that Harry had used their son's nickname for his own son. At the time, it was reported that Archie was deliberately chosen as a name with no royal connections (by contrast, all of William and Kate's kids' names are all family names, given that they're the first family in line to the throne)—but having the future king of England use it as a nickname is, well, quite the royal connection.

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