Prince Harry Reveals How He Coped in the Delivery Room During Meghan Markle’s Labor: ‘I Took Several…’
As the nurse entered the room and glanced at Harry, she reportedly realized what had happened, prompting Harry to apologize.
Prince Harry, who has always been known for his laid-back personality, struggled to stay calm when his wife, Meghan Markle, went into labor with their first child, Prince Archie. While Harry rarely talks about his children in public, he opened up about this particular incident in his memoir, Spare. Harry revealed that while Markle was in the delivery room at The Portland Hospital in London, he had to turn to Nando’s chicken and laughing gas to get through the nerve-wracking experience, HELLO!
As per the Daily Mail, he penned, “Meg was so calm. I was calm too...But I saw two ways of enhancing my calm. One: Nando’s chicken (brought by our bodyguards). Two: A canister of laughing gas beside Meg’s bed.” He added, “Meg, bouncing on a giant purple ball, a proven way of giving nature a push, laughed and rolled her eyes. I took several more hits and now I was bouncing too.” The gas, which slows brain and body responses, left Harry feeling lightheaded. He admitted that he inhaled so much that by the time Markle needed pain relief, the canister was empty.
He described how the nurse looked at the tank and then looked back at him. He said, “I could see the thought slowly dawning. ‘Gracious, the husband’s had it all.’ ‘Sorry,’ I said meekly.” Markle, who was fine, bouncing on the birthing ball, later needed an epidural. Harry described the shift in the mood in the room: “The anesthetist hurried in. Off went the music, and on went the lights. Whoa. Vibe change.” Archie was safely delivered, and Harry recalled how he and Markle were overcome with emotion, both shedding tears as they held their newborn for the first time.
To create a calming atmosphere, Harry had set up electric candles and played ‘soulful hymns’ in the delivery room. He also placed a framed photo of his mother, Princess Diana, near Markle’s bedside. Harry and Markle’s approach to Archie’s birth also broke royal tradition. Unlike Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, who posed with their newborns outside St. Mary’s Hospital, the Sussexes chose not to introduce their baby on the hospital steps. Instead, Harry personally announced the birth to reporters outside Windsor Castle.
“It’s been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined,” Harry said at the time. “How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension, but we’re both absolutely thrilled.” His decision to turn to Nando’s for comfort was not entirely surprising. Harry has long been a fan of the restaurant chain. In 2013, he was spotted at a London branch ordering a chicken pitta with extra cheese, creamy mash, and a double chicken wrap with fries. When Lilibet was born in June 2021, Harry confirmed in Spare that this time, he avoided the laughing gas, but only because 'there was none.'
