Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Have Reportedly Hired a Nanny for Baby Archie
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby boy Archie was born in May of 2019.
The new parents have reportedly hired a nanny to help out with caring for their one-month-old son.
We spoke to royal experts about what Harry and Meghan might have considered during the hiring process.
At Princess Eugenie's wedding, Prince George and Princess Charlotte carried out their duties as part of the bridal party. Their parents, Prince William and Kate Middleton, looked on proudly, and not far away from the young royals was a woman who also plays a significant role in guiding and caring for them: Their nanny, Maria Borrallo.
Borrallo, like many royal nannies before her, regularly attends special events such as Eugenie's wedding. She also travels with the Cambridges all over the world, lives with them in Kensington Palace, and has become a key part of their family.
Now, it is being reported that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have also enlisted a caretaker's assistance.
According to Harper's Bazaar, the royal couple recently hired a nanny for their baby boy. Sources confirmed to royal reporter Omid Scobie that "the couple recently took on the extra pair of hands ahead of Harry’s busy summer schedule and Meghan planning a return to royal duties this fall."
Thus far, details are slim about the new hire, though Scobie does note that the "British-born female nanny is not permanently based at Frogmore Cottage or working weekends."
According to Vanity Fair, for the first couple weeks of baby Archie's life, Meghan's mom Doria Ragland was there to help. She's since returned home to California-and although Doria may visit frequently, she's still left a gap open for a full-time nanny.
Carolyn Harris, author of Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting, tells Town & Country that while royals are not required to get help, it is recommended because of their public responsibilities.
"Modern monarchs often undertake Commonwealth tours. Since Commonwealth tours are now shorter and involve air travel, instead of months at sea, royal children often accompany their parents," Harris says. But even though the children are present on the trip, their parents would have extensive working responsibilities, including meetings with politicians and dignitaries, and doing philanthropic work.
In the past, William and Kate have brought Prince George to Australia and New Zealand, and George and Charlotte to Canada. "[When] the children are present, the nanny travels with them to care for the children while their parents undertake official engagements," Harris says.
Nannies are certainly not a new tradition in royal parenting, though. Historian Robert Lacy, who served as an advisor for The Crown and is the author of The Crown: The Official Companion, told Town & Country last year that the Queen believed it was better to leave the children in the care of nannies than to bring them around the world. "She had been brought up in that style herself, after all, with her parents leaving her at home and entrusting her entire schooling to a governess and home tutors," he told Town & Country.
In 1993, Prince Charles hired Tiggy Legge-Bourke to look after Prince William and Prince Harry after Charles separated from their mother, the late Princess Diana.
Legge-Bourke worked with the family until 1999, and became very close with William and Harry. In May, she even attended Meghan and Harry's wedding at St. George's Chapel.
William and Kate have certainly embraced the tradition of live-in childcare, their model is similar to one that would be familiar to many working parents today: They need help caring for their children while they pursue their professional duties (in this case royal life) and social lives, but they remain hands on and affectionate parents.
Sixty years ago, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh saw the children after breakfast and teatime but "in the manner of the upper class, neither of them were physically demonstrative," author Sally Bedell-Smith, who wrote a biography of Prince Charles, told T&C. Kate Middleton, in contrast, frequently drops Prince George and Princess Charlotte off at school and both she and Prince William are seen cuddling and holding their children in public.
Meghan, of course, was not raised a royal, and some of these traditions may feel foreign, but many of her fellow actors relied on childcare as they continued their professional careers. Marlene Koenig, a royal historian and Royal Musings blogger, rightly suspected that Meghan would follow in Kate's footsteps of taking maternity leave and hiring part-time help in the first few months of motherhood.
"[When George was born], William hired Jessie Webb, one of his former nannies," Koenig says. "When her contract was up, Borrallo was hired."
So, who is now working for Meghan and Harry? At this point, it's unclear. But Harris and Koenig agree that anyone working as a royal nanny would be both highly-qualified and recommended by close family and friends. Most elite nannies, like Borallo, graduate from the prestigious Norland College in Bath, which offers an Early Years Development and Learning degree.
"Referrals are key," Harris adds.
And of course, Doria Ragland will always be around in a pinch.
"Grandparents have been important to upbringing of royal children for centuries," Harris says. "Prince Charles became very close to his grandmother, the Queen Mother, while the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh undertook long Commonwealth tours. Carole Middleton has been photographed spending time with her grandchildren. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will likely have a combination of a nanny and grandparent involved in the upbringing of their baby."
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