TORONTO — The much-anticipated child of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, has arrived, igniting a flurry of baby fever and speculation on all manner of royal gossip.
Questions abound for crown watchers and celebrity fiends: When will we see pictures of the baby? Who will his godparents be? What country will the new family visit first? Will Meghan ever get to enjoy Mother's Day with her son's birthday so close to her special day? Does England even celebrate Mother's Day?
For some of these and other pressing matters, The Canadian Press turned to monarchy experts to weigh in. Here's what they said:
ARE THE ROYALS ALSO CANADIAN CITIZENS? WILL THIS BABY BE PART CANADIAN?
Prince Harry, of course, is a senior member of Canada's royal family but does not actually hold Canadian citizenship. Nor does he hold citizenship for any other Commonwealth nation, says Barry MacKenzie of the Monarchist League of Canada. He says all members of the royal family are British, save for the Queen, who technically does not have any citizenship and does not travel with a passport — because passports are issued in her name.
"And of course Prince Charles will eventually, when he becomes king, also not really have a citizenship," he notes. "It's sort of a strange sort of phenomenon."
However, the baby's California-born mother may apply for U.S. citizenship on the child’s behalf, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration website.
ONE OF MEGHAN'S BESTIES IS CANADIAN STYLIST JESSICA MULRONEY, CAN SHE BE THE BABY'S GODMOTHER?
It's pretty much a certainty this child will be baptized in the Church of England, although plans have yet to be announced. Royal watcher and author Katie Nicholl suspects that will occur this summer at the historic St. George's chapel at Windsor Castle, where Harry and Meghan wed in May 2018.
She also believes Mulroney has a good shot at participating, after playing a key behind-the-scenes role at the wedding, which featured the Mulroney children as a bridesmaid and groomsmen.
"I think it'll be a mixture of some family and friends and Jessica is clearly at the top of the list," Nicholl, author of "Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love," said from Windsor, England. "I think there's every chance that we could see Jessica as godmother."
Whether she meets the church's requirements is another matter, since godparents are required to be baptized and ideally, confirmed Christians. Mulroney is a member of one of Montreal's most established Jewish families, the Brownsteins, and wed TV personality Ben Mulroney in a Montreal ceremony that blended both Catholic and Jewish elements. Nevertheless, Nicholl suggests this rule may not be uniformly enforced across all parishes, if the godparent is willing to swear to certain Church of England vows.
"Even if she's not a godmother, she's going to be a part of this child's upbringing. You know the children will be close and Jessica has been a great friend to Meghan and also to Harry."
DO THE ROYALS CELEBRATE MOTHER'S DAY?
Mother's Day is this Sunday in Canada and the United States, but not so in England. Over there, mothers are feted on Mothering Sunday, which takes place on the fourth Sunday of Lent and three weeks before Easter Sunday, typically in late March. The next Mothering Sunday is set for March 22, 2020.
But that's not to say that Meghan can't also mark Mother's Day this weekend, says MacKenzie, noting that Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, reportedly arrived to stay with the royal couple in the days leading up to the birth.
"Her mother, of course, is with her at Frogmore House so I suspect that they'll be marking that in their own way," says MacKenzie. "It's a very special time of year, of course, for a baby to come along and for that child to be with his mother and grandmother. So I suspect there'll be some American traditions sprinkled in this weekend."
