It’s a Boy! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Welcome Healthy Baby Boy

The improbable love story between an American actress and a British royal took the best of all possible turns Monday with the arrival of a healthy baby boy.

The as-yet-unnamed baby arrived less than a year after Prince Harry wed Meghan Markle in a spectacular televised event on the grounds of Windsor Castle that was watched the world over.

Meghan is now the Duchess of Sussex, but she still does things her own way: The couple bucked royal tradition by declining to say where the baby was born and opting not to come out to pose with the newborn just hours after the birth.

Instead, an obviously overjoyed Harry emerged to tell the world — via its waiting TV cameras — that a baby had been born. It marked a moment the nation is likely to remember as a once-troubled boy undone by the death of his mother Princess Diana in 1997 car crash seemed giddy in his embrace of fatherhood.

“This little thing is absolutely to die for,” the ginger-haired, bearded prince said. “I’m just over the moon.”

The baby weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces (3.26 kilograms) at birth and was born at 5:26 a.m. (0426 GMT; 12:26 a.m. EDT). Harry said their son was a little bit overdue and that had given the royal couple more time to contemplate names.

Harry promised that more details — such as the baby’s name — will be shared in the coming days.

Harry and the palace didn’t immediately provide details on whether the baby was born at a hospital or if it was a home birth. The royal couple had earlier said they wanted to keep details private.

The infant is seventh in line to the British throne and is the eighth great-grandchild of 93-year-old Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch.

It is a satisfying moment for the queen as the monarchy grows in popularity in part because of public affection for Harry, his older brother Prince William, and their two wives, Meghan and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Harry, the 34-year-old son of Prince Charles, said he was present at the birth.

“It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined,” he said. “How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension.

“We’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there. It’s been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody,” he said.

Word that the baby had been born was withheld while senior members of the royal family, including the queen, were told. Princess Diana’s family was also informed.

Buckingham Palace said minutes before 2 p.m. that Meghan had gone into labor (in fact the baby had already been born) and Harry emerged less than an hour later to announce the birth in person.

Harry’s dramatic announcement, and his obvious pleasure, sparked cheers among royal fans and well-wishers who had gathered outside the imposing grounds of Windsor Castle hoping to hear the news.

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