Category Archives: Recent Talks and Media Appearances

CBC News Interview: Another royal wedding — but not so much pomp

by CarolynHarris | Leave a comment

On May 18, 2019, Lady Gabriella Windsor (the daughter of Queen Elizabeth II’s cousin Prince Michael of Kent) married Thomas Kingston at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor. Lady Gabriella is the third member of the royal family to be married at St. George’s Chapel in the past year. Senior members of the royal family attended the wedding including the Queen and Prince Harry. In an interview with Janet Davison at CBC News, I discussed Lady Gabriella, her branch of the royal family, and her wedding.

Click here to read “Another royal wedding — but not so much pomp” at CBC News

New BBC History Magazine article: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor: the history behind the royal baby name

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I wrote a short history of the name Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor for the BBC History Magazine. I discussed the long history of the name Archibald or Archie among the Scottish nobility including an ancestor of the new royal baby, how Harrison mirrors Norse and Anglo-Saxon patronymics from before the Norman Conquest and the emergence of the surname Mountbatten-Windsor for junior members of the royal family from 1960 to the present.

Click here to read Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor: the history behind the royal baby name

CBC News Interview: Archie has arrived

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I discussed The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s newborn son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor with Janet Davison for the CBC royal newsletter, The Royal Fascinator. The interview includes the birth announcement, first photographs and the name that was announced today.

Click here to read “Archie has arrived: From the baby’s name to the big reveal, Meghan and Harry defy royal convention” in The Royal Fascinator at CBC News

CBC News Channel Interview: Royal Historian Talks About The Latest Addition to the Royal Family

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I discussed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s newborn son in a series of interviews on the CBC News Channel and CBC Radio on the day of the royal baby’s arrival, May 6, 2019.

Click here to watch my afternoon CBC News Channel Interview, “Royal historian talks about the latest addition to the Royal Family” on the CBC News Channel

CBC News Interview: Are Meghan and Harry really going to Africa?

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I discussed the history of speculation and rumours surrounding royal births from the seventeenth century to the present day with Janet Davison at CBC News. The article also discusses the reports that that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may live abroad at some point in the future. The royal couple’s first child is expected to arrive in the next few days, prompting widespread conjecture concerning the young family’s eventual plans for travel within the Commonwealth.

Click here to read “Are Meghan and Harry really going to Africa?” in the CBC News The Royal Fascinator Newsletter

Daily Express Interview: Royal baby: Meghan and Harry may opt for NHS hospital

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In previous interviews, I discussed the possibility of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby being born at home. There are certainly other potential locations for the birth including National Health Service hospitals near Windsor. In an interview with Ciaran McGrath at the Daily Express, I discussed great-grandchildren of the Queen who were born in NHS hospitals, the media scrutiny faced by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s child, and the future role of the 7th in line to the throne.

Click here to read “Royal baby: Meghan and Harry may opt for NHS hospital” in The Daily Express

Today Interview: Queen Elizabeth changed how royal babies eat. Will Meghan Markle do the same?

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I discussed the history of royal parenting and how royal babies were fed over the past few centuries with Aly Walansky at Today. The debate concerning whether royal mothers should nurse their own children dates from the late eighteenth century when French Enlightenment philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau objected to the prevalence of wet nurses employed to feed and care for infants. Marie Antoinette briefly nursed her daughter Marie-Therese over the objections of her own mother, Empress Maria Theresa and Queen Victoria’s daughters nursed their children despite the Queen’s distaste for the practice. The controversy surrounding royal mothers nursing their own children continued until the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II’s children in the mid 20th century.

Click here to read Queen Elizabeth changed how royal babies eat. Will Meghan Markle do the same?

CBC News Interview: Are Harry and Meghan breaking tradition — or setting trends?

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I discussed the history of royal births with Janet Davison at CBC News including the experiences of the Tudors and Queen Victoria. The arrival of a royal child prompts discussion of centuries old traditions but each generation of the royal family also introduces their own innovations, responding to the cultural trends of their times and shaping these trends. With the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby due any day, there is growing interest in how the arrival of the latest royal child will shape parenting trends in the 21st century.

Click here to read “Are Harry and Meghan breaking tradition — or setting trends?” in the CBC News Royal Fascinator Newsletter

Today Interview: Royal parenting over the years: From distant and lonely to loving and hands-on

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I discussed royal parenting over the past century with Laura T. Coffey from Today. One hundred years ago, King George V’s and Queen Mary’s youngest son Prince John died following an epileptic seizure. While his parents grieved his loss, his daily care had been entrusted almost entirely to his governess Charlotte Bill, and he resided in his own residence, the Wood Farm cottage on the Sandringham Estate. Royal parents are far more involved in the daily care of their children today, a trend that will continue with the arrival of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby.

Click here to read Royal parenting over the years: From distant and lonely to loving and hands-on

Daily Express Interview: Royal baby name: Will Meghan Markle and Harry choose ‘on trend’ name for Baby Sussex?

by CarolynHarris | Leave a comment

I discussed the history of royal baby names with Kat Hopps at the Daily Express. While royalty often choose names that belonged to royal relatives or godparents for their children, there are also examples of Kings and Queens choosing a names from the contemporary names of their times. I was also asked to suggest to some possible royal baby names and my ideas are included in the article.

Click here to read Royal baby name: Will Meghan Markle and Harry choose ‘ON TREND’ name for Baby Sussex?

My royal baby name ideas are also included in Baby Sussex: The final royal baby name predictions are here in Image Magazine