MEGHAN Markle felt like people wanted her to “serve her child on a silver platter” after she was criticised for keeping baby Archie’s christening private, according to a bombshell new book.
Fiercely protective Meghan made sure Archie’s christening on July 6 last year was a “completely private affair” at the Queen’s chapel in Windsor Castle attended by just 22 guests, Harry and Meghan’s unauthorised biography Finding Freedom, out today, says.
While she came under attack for breaking tradition and not allowing the media or the public a glimpse of baby Archie on his special day, Meghan didn’t care, according to the book authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.
Instead she told a friend: “The same people who have been abusing me want to see me serve my child on a silver platter.
“A child who is not going to be protected and doesn’t have a title. How does that make sense? Tell that to any mother in the world.”
Meghan’s decision caused uproar with those who believed that as the taxpayers part-fund the monarchy, they have a right to see Archie on his christening day, according to the book.
The christenings of most other royal children including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s three children were attended by media and widely publicised.
Instead Meghan and Harry released just two pictures of baby Archie after the christening – a family portrait and an intimate black and white picture of the three of them.
The book goes on to describe how the couple made a similar decision when they decided to keep the 380 members of the press covering their African tour away when Archie was taken to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu, instead taking their own pictures.
Details of Meghan’s own baptism ahead of her wedding to Harry – and her strong faith – are also revealed in the book.
Although she was not brought up religious, friends claim that Meghan has always had a strong belief in God, which helped her get through her “darkest moments”.
Meghan used to pray with one of her best friends at Northwestern University and used to gather the cast and crew of Suits together for a “prayer circle” before starting work.
She decided to get baptised into the Church of England “out of respect to the Queen”, according to the book and the ceremony was held at St James’s Palace’s Chapel Royal.
While the Queen, William and Kate did not attend the ceremony, there were 18 guests – including Charles and Camilla – present to watch Meghan have holy water poured on her head as a choir performed.
Guests then celebrated at a dinner party at Clarence House, hosted by Prince Charles.
Meghan had to have several meetings with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby ahead of the baptism, where she discussed “personal matters” including her divorce to Trevor Engelson and what she had learned from that failed marriage.
The book also gives a glimpse into baby Archie’s first year of life in which “hands-on” dad Harry was in charge of “changing most of Archie’s diapers” to give Meghan, who was nursing the baby, a break.
Harry liked that to be “his ‘job’ especially as Meghan has so much more to do”.
Little Archie also enjoyed baby swimming lessons and music classes.
Meghan brought him by herself to the Happy Clappy music class in Windsor, where he played with a tambourine while royal protection officers waited outside, the book said.
He also loved being read to by his parents and his favorite book was Is Your Mama a Llama by Deborah Guarino.
During the couple’s Africa tour, little Archie learned to mimic the sounds of the animals outside during a stay at the high commissioner’s residence in Cape Town.
Once they left the UK following “Megxit” and moved to the Mille Fleurs estate in Victoria, Canada, worried Meghan and Harry baby-proofed the mansion to protect the tot, who was described as growing “at the speed of light”.
As well as covering sharp edges with “discreet rubber pads” and moving furniture out of the way they also tried to “paparazzi-proof” the property by installing extra fencing.
They proudly boasted to friends how Archie – who they nicknamed Bubba – was in the 90th percentile for his height, according to the book authors.
It has been previously reported how the book told how Prince Harry was “delightfully surprised” when he took Meghan on a camping trip and she took bathroom breaks in the woods.
Meghan, 39, and Harry, 35, have insisted they had nothing to do with the book, while the authors have said they did not speak to them directly.
