In the run up to the announcement of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's royal baby's name, the competition to guess it correctly was fierce. But if we'd only been a bit smarter, we would have realised that all the information we needed was right there, under our noses the whole time.

Because it turns out Prince Harry quite publicly announced he liked the name Archie way back in October, just days after Meghan's pregnancy was revealed. During the New Zealand leg of the Sussexes' royal tour last October, the couple came across a young boy in the crowd in Auckland called Archie Somerville-Ryan.

Speaking to a reporter after meeting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Archie detailed the conversation. "Archie, I like that name," Harry apparently said to the schoolboy, before calling Meghan over and repeating it to her.

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"He said, 'I like that name' or something like that [to Meghan]," recalled New Zealander Archie, whose mum then said to him: "Imagine if they call it Archie."

And lo and behold, that's what happened, and we now have a baby Archie. An Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, to be specific.

Someone's already worked out what baby Archie will grow up to look likepinterest
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Harry's public declaration of his affection for the name Archie wasn't the only major hint the baby was going to be called that, however. Back in January, Prince George introduced himself as Archie to a stranger on a dog walk, and either we have a large coincidence on our hands, or the young Prince knew something we didn't know.

The clues really are always there if you just look hard enough, aren't they?

How did Prince George know baby Archie's name before he was born?pinterest
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The name the Duke and Duchess of Sussex picked for their firstborn may not have been a conventional 'royal' name, but it's thought it's packed with hidden meanings. There's speculation the name Archie is intended to be an almost-anagram of 'Rachel', which is mum Meghan's official first name, although she has long been known by her middle name, Meghan.

Harrison, the middle name Harry and Meghan chose for baby Archie, is pretty self explanatory. It literally means 'Harry's son', and Archie literally is Harry's son, so yeah. No debating the meaning behind that one.

Is there a hidden message in royal baby Archie Harrison's name?pinterest
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Happy almost-one-week of being here, Archie Harrison.