The most recent notable royal baby born in the British family was Princess Athena Mapelli Mozzi, daughter of Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, born in early 2025, while internationally, several royal babies arrived in 2025, including Princess Ines of Sweden, Princess Amina of Jordan, and Princess Bianca Casiraghi, making it a busy year for new royal arrivals across Europe and beyond.
Birth and family
Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor was born at 11:40 PDT (18:40 UTC) on 4 June 2021 at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California. She is the second child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and has an older brother, Prince Archie. Her birth and name were announced two days later.
It is indicated the Queen used this for the first three births, and then chose differently for Prince Edward. Eventually Charles was born by a Caesarean section in a music room in Buckingham Palace which had been converted into a theatre.
208 years ago, on November 6, 1817, Princess Charlotte of Wales died in childbirth after delivering a stillborn son. Not many people remember Princess Charlotte of Wales, but I think it is important that she be remembered and that it is understood how her death affected the British succession.
The year's biggest royal births include daughters of Carl Philip and Sofia, Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, and Princess Iman and Jameel Thermiotis. 2025 has been a year of welcoming new princesses: Inés of Sweden, Athena Mapelli Mozzi, Amina of Jordan, Bianca Casiraghi, and Kira Leonida of Russia.
Meghan Markle has publicly shared that she experienced postpartum preeclampsia, a serious and rare condition involving high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine that occurred after childbirth, describing it as a "huge medical scare". She revealed this on her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, highlighting the life-threatening nature of the disorder, which can happen weeks after delivery and impact new mothers' ability to care for their newborns.
Prince Harry is opening up about how he and Meghan Markle mourned a miscarriage in his memoir Spare. In the book, the Duke of Sussex, 38, remembered how his wife, 41, showed signs of pregnancy loss on the "first morning" in their new home in Montecito.
In 1915, a German princess was born with Down syndrome—and unlike so many children of her era, she was never hidden. Her name was Princess Alexandrine Irene of Prussia, the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Wilhelm and Princess Cecilie of Mecklenburg‑Schwerin.
Yes I know that the Queen Elizabeth said in an episode of The Crown that she only ever loved Prince Phillip and Porchey was just a friend, but had she loved Porchey he would have been 100% a better husband the Phillip. They had so much mutual respect for each other and had so much in common.
Not only did Princess Diana choose to remain awake and have a natural childbirth, she also chose to give birth standing up, with natural childbirth expert Sheila Kitzinger recalling that Diana didn't want to lie down, choosing to "give birth in an upright position."
But, not one to follow tradition too strictly, the Queen set her own standard and breastfed her four children, something which her daughter-in-law Princess Diana also decided to do as well, and later the Duchess of Cambridge.
The plan was created as early as the 1960s and revised many times in the years before her death in September 2022. The phrase "London Bridge is down" was to be used to communicate the death of the Queen to the prime minister of the United Kingdom and key personnel, setting the plan into motion.
Meghan Markle has two children with Prince Harry: Prince Archie (born May 2019) and Princess Lilibet (born June 2021), who are known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's children. They live in California and have been featured in recent family photos and announcements about their parents' charitable work.
Does Lilibet have blue eyes? Yes, like her father, Prince Harry, Lilibet has blue eyes. See the sweetest pictures of Princess Lilibet below…
A mop of dark red hair and a heart-melting smile: Here's what Prince Archie looks like now. A right-royal cutie.
' Mapelli Mozzi added that 'she is tiny and absolutely perfect' and the family is 'completely besotted with her'. The fact they chose a picture where Athena's face cannot be seen, likely due to concerns about privacy, is perhaps telling of how the royal couple plan to approach social media moving forward.
There isn't one single "most famous" person with Down syndrome, as fame varies by field, but prominent figures include model Madeline Stuart, known as the first professional model with Down syndrome; actor Zack Gottsagen, star of The Peanut Butter Falcon; Ironman athlete Chris Nikic; and successful entrepreneur John Lee Cronin (John's Crazy Socks). These individuals, along with others like actress Sarah Gordy, advocate for inclusion, breaking barriers in fashion, film, sports, and business.
He tells the true, but incredible, story of Prince John (1905-19), the youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary, who developed epilepsy and pervasive developmental disorder, and who had a learning disability.
The couple were expecting their second child in the late spring - the baby would have been the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh's sixth great-grandchild. The spokeswoman said: "Very sadly, Zara and Mike Tindall have lost their baby. At this difficult time, we ask that everyone respects their privacy."
Meghan Markle's name was removed from Archie Harrison's birth certificate in 2019, changing it from "Rachel Meghan The Duchess of Sussex" to just "Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex," as a move to align with royal protocol, similar to Princess Diana's birth certificate, though it sparked rumors of a "snub" to Kate Middleton and was described by Meghan's spokesperson as a Palace directive, not her own choice, adding complexity to royal naming conventions.
Meghan Markle has publicly shared that she experienced postpartum preeclampsia, a serious and rare condition involving high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine that occurred after childbirth, describing it as a "huge medical scare". She revealed this on her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, highlighting the life-threatening nature of the disorder, which can happen weeks after delivery and impact new mothers' ability to care for their newborns.
Princess Kate had "planned abdominal surgery" in January 2024, described by Kensington Palace as successful and non-cancerous initially, but later revealed to involve cancer requiring preventative chemotherapy, though the specific type of surgery (e.g., hysterectomy, organ removal, or other issue) was kept private, with speculation ranging from gynecological to gastrointestinal issues, all pointing to a major procedure requiring significant recovery time.
Prince William and Kate Middleton sleep in separate beds primarily due to the constraints of the Royal Train (which has only single beds) and as part of a long-standing aristocratic tradition of separate sleeping arrangements for better rest or privacy, though they likely share a bed at home, with their dog sometimes joining them for extra comfort, aligning with modern trends for "sleep divorce".
Princess Beatrice is pregnant with her second child, Buckingham Palace has announced. The 36-year-old princess, Elizabeth II's granddaughter, and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, are preparing to welcome their new child in early spring.