Global News Interview: What was it like to have Queen Elizabeth II as a mom?

I discussed royal parenting during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II with Meghan Collie at Global News. The release of Season 3 of The Crown on Netflix has contributed to a revival of interest in the relationship between the Queen and her four children, Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The series speculates about the conversations and confrontations that took place within the royal family behind palace doors.

Click here to read “What was it like to have Queen Elizabeth II as a Mom” at Global News

For more about the history of royal parenting from medieval to modern times, read about the experiences of 20 sets of royal parents in my book, Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting

Talking History Interview: Queen Victoria: A Life

I discussed the life, reign and legacy of Queen Victoria with Patrick Geoghegan on Talking History, Newstalk FM, Ireland.

The panel of historians and biographers on the program include A.N. Wilson, author of Victoria: A Life, Jane Ridley, author of Bertie: A Life of Edward VII and Queen Victoria: Queen, Matriarch, Empress, Jules Stewart, author of Albert: A Life and Christine Kinealy, author of A New History of Ireland.

Click here to listen to Queen Victoria: A Life

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

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

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

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

The Atlantic Interview: The New Royal Baby’s Historical Significance

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed a baby boy today. The newborn is 7th in line to the throne after his grandfather Prince Charles, uncle Prince William, cousins Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, and father Prince Harry. Just before the birth, I discussed the historical significance of the royal baby in an extended interview with Natalie Escobar at The Atlantic.

Click here to read The New Baby’s Historical Significance in The Atlantic

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

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

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?

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?

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