Why The Sussex Baby’s Life Will Be Different Compared To George And Charlotte?
The Sussex baby will have more freedom than George and Charlotte as the child of a second-born royal son. But the youngster will still have some pressure as a royal.
Dr Jonathan Spangler, of Manchester Metropolitan University, said: “There are three Cambridge children and maybe there will be a fourth. There will be plenty of royal duties for them to do, and less and less for Harry’s child to do. But Harry and Meghan’s child will still be expected to live up to a certain standard. You can see that problem with Harry’s life as well. He was held up to much higher scrutiny than his friends.”
When Harry was growing up he was known as a rebel and he even went to a dress party as a Nazi, stripping naked in Las Vegas, getting into fights with paparazzi and trying cannabis. The Duke even admitted in 2017 that at one point he “wanted out” of the royal family.
Dr Spangler said: “The people Harry went to Eton with went off to parties, got drunk and nobody published their pictures in the newspaper. He had this double standard always – he was expected to be a teenager but not allowed to be one. That problem will recur again in the next generation.”
The Sussex baby will not be an HRH unless the Queen intervenes.
Dr Spangler said: “People who are not HRHs are free to go off and start business ventures and companies and whatever they like. Harry and Meghan’s baby could grow up to be a bit more normal, or as normal as they can be in this media-centred world. Harry is so popular, now more popular than William. By default, the child will be very much in the public eye.”
The baby, who’ll be seventh in line for the throne, is not expected to become monarch but the Queen was also the child of a second-born royal son.
Dr Spangler said: “It is possible through the twists of dynastic fate, although much less likely given we have modern medical practice and science. An entire side of the royal family won’t be wiped out from smallpox-like it would in the 17th century.I’m sure royal babies are taught from the very moment they’re breathing that this is a potentiality and that even if you do pursue a normal life, there’s still some inkling of a future, more prominent, role.”
The Duchess of Sussex is due to give birth at the end of the month or early May.