It was slicker than Harry and Meghan’s admittedly bungled attempt at privacy, when the Palace put out a statement that Meghan had gone into labour, then bizarrely, 40 minutes later, admitted she had in fact delivered Archie hours before, which made them look at best muddled and at worst, fibbers.But here’s where things start to differ. Because there’s one major thing missing from all of Eugenie’s baby news — horrible headlines. There has been a subdued, “oh, that’s nice” response, with a few pleasant news items and that’s the end of that.Harry and Meghan’s decision to have Archie in the Portland was first met with fury that they hadn’t told everyone the location, then that the private maternity hospital was too posh, with “foie gras and lobster on the menu” and “magnums of champagne at the ready”. And yet Eugenie could be giving baby his first bath in Dom Perignon right now, for all anyone cares. Admittedly, she did make the location public, but the difference in treatment is still marked.“Where better for the Queen’s granddaughter Princess Eugenie to give birth to her son … than in this most salubrious of settings?” wrote Tatler. I don’t know, let’s ask Meghan: Archie’s arrival was the beginning of the end for her and Harry’s royal life.Obviously, Harry was a full-time royal at the time and therefore funded by the public purse, which Eugenie, despite being a princess, is not and according to reports does not aspire to be, for herself or her offspring. She’s also only 10th in line to the throne, compared to Harry’s sixth and Archie’s seventh.But she is still the Queen’s granddaughter and her son’s birth has shunted Prince Edward a rung lower.But even though Harry was “public property” at the time, it still does not explain why he was permitted no privacy while Eugenie is allowed to do what she likes, according to public opinion.Nobody is screaming about her “breaking with tradition”. Nobody is saying anything at all. Except, I suspect, a little muttering inside a certain house in California.And if you think I’m wrong — wait until Meghan announces her second baby.
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