Is there anything that Royal family fanatics love obsessing over more than a new Royal baby? Luckily for these folks, the past decade has seen five sprogs with a spot on the line of succession brought into the world, thanks to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three kids and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s son and daughter.

In fact, they have babies on the brain so much that, when denied all the juicy news and photo evidence of the latest addition to the most powerful clan in the land, these Royal rabble-rousers can get pretty tetchy. Harry and Meghan found this out the hard way upon the birth of their first child, Prince Archie, back in 2019, and even five years later the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are still being blasted for a supposed “deception.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle derided for deceiving the world over the birth of their son, Prince Archie

Virtually every major moment of a Royal’s life is lived in the spotlight, so that’s why it was so abnormal when Prince Archie was born on May 6, 2019 in total secrecy. After William and Kate had elected to document the birth of their children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis — in the open, including hosting photoshoots on the hospital steps shortly after the event, Harry and Meghan’s attempt to maintain privacy rubbed many people the wrong way.

And continues to do so, apparently. Royal historian and author Robert Lacey has dredged up the incident once again by expressing his shock that Harry and Meghan so blatantly lied to the press. Lacey reminded us that Meghan was confirmed to go into labor on the afternoon of May 6, hours after she had actually given birth:

“There was the deception over the announcement of Archie’s birth, which unlike every other royal birth of modern times took place in total secrecy: Buckingham Palace announced at 2 pm on May 6, 2019, that Meghan had gone into labour that morning — when in fact, she had safely given birth to baby Archie eight hours earlier, at 5.26 am,” Lacey writes.

This arguably sympathetic bit of subterfuge is something that Harry and Meghan have themselves indirectly addressed in their 2021 Netflix docuseries. In the show, Harry held the press and the public accountable for the “abuse” the couple received for “not wanting to serve our child up on a silver platter.” Likewise, Meghan criticized the widespread “pressure of the picture on the steps,” which they decided to skip.

Some may wonder why Meghan had a problem with the hospital photo tradition when Princess Catherine seemed fine with it, but maybe we should examine Kate’s real feelings before we cast judgment.

Kate Middleton admitted she had “mixed emotions” over “slightly terrifying” experience Meghan refused to replicate

Harry and Meghan may have faced all the flak for not parading Archie in front of the cameras immediately after his birth, but Kate’s own experience suggests she would’ve gotten out of the ordeal too if she thought she had a choice.

While speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby podcast in 2020, Princess Catherine was asked what it was like to emerge from the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, just hours after giving birth to George in July 2013, only to be met with a crowd of photographers and members of the public and expected to pose and smile for the press.

“Yeah, slightly terrifying, slightly terrifying, I’m not going to lie,” was the Princess of Wales’ candid admission. She went on to stress how “everyone had been so supportive” and it was felt that it was “really important” for her and William to “be able to share that joy and appreciation with the public.” And yet Kate stressed that there were downsides. “But equally it was coupled with a newborn baby, and inexperienced parents, and the uncertainty of what that held, so there were all sorts of mixed emotions,” she added.

Can Harry and Meghan be forgiven for their little white lie to avoid turning one of the most special moments of their lives into their own “slightly terrifying” nightmare that soured the joy with “mixed emotions?” Royal traditionalists certainly don’t seem to think so.