Harry, Meghan name baby Archie

The latest addition to the royal family has been named Archie, ending intense speculation.

The name was announced after Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan showed off their newborn son to the world on Wednesday, saying the arrival of their little bundle of joy was magic.

Tightly cradling his son, wrapped in a white shawl and knitted hat, Harry and Meghan appeared before a small group of media at St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle.

That is also where Harry and Meghan held their wedding reception just under a year ago.

“It’s magic – it’s pretty amazing and I have the two best guys in the world so I am really happy,” Meghan said, when asked how she was finding being a new mother.

Wearing a white sleeveless coat dress and beaming, she said the baby, the seventh-inline to the British throne, was calm, had the sweetest temperament and was sleeping well.

“He’s just been the dream,” she said, prompting Harry to quip: “I don’t know who he gets that from.”

The baby was born in the early hours of Monday, weighing 3.26kg, but few other birth details have been given.

“It’s great, parenting is amazing,” Harry said.

“It’s only been 2½, three days, but we’re so thrilled to have our own little bundle of joy, to be able to spend precious time with him as he slowly starts to grow up.

“He’s already got a little bit of facial hair as well – wonderful,” the bearded prince joked.

The couple said they were to visit Queen Elizabeth, 93, at the castle to allow her to meet her eighth great-grandchild.

Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is also staying with the couple at their Frogmore Cottage home, on the castle estate.

“It will be a nice moment to introduce the baby to more family and my mom’s with us as well,” Meghan, 37, said.

The birth of their first child has attracted particular attention, especially as the new child is the first mixed-race child to be born into a senior position in British royalty in recent history.

Harry’s father, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, expressed his joy on Tuesday at the arrival of his fourth grandson, while elder brother Prince William and his wife, Kate, said they were absolutely thrilled.

Meghan said: “Thank you all so much for all the well-wishes and the kindness, it just means so much.”

Some commentators have argued that the birth marks another milestone in the gradual modernisation of the almost 1,000-year-old monarchy.

“You are the first child in almost three centuries to bring Africa back into the royal gene pool,” former Equality and Human Rights Commission head Trevor Phillips wrote in a letter to the baby.

- Reuters