Harry and Meghan have revealed they are a new generation of feminist royals, says expert

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby reveal shows the couple are a new generation of royals who will share parenting duties, an expert has said.

In their first press engagement since the birth of their son, Harry and Meghan appeared happy and relaxed.

Meghan praised her “two best guys”, the duke and her son.

Unlike his brother William, who stood next to his wife and child at each royal birth, Harry carried his son in his arms.

Ann Douglas, a bestselling Canadian parenting and baby author, said the appearance heralded a new generation of feminist royals who would share parenting duties between them.

“I think we can take away from the video this morning that Harry intends to take a really active role in parenting, and that he recognises parenting as a gift, rather than an obligation,” she said.

“He intends to treat parenting as something he does jointly with Meghan but it’s going to be at the centre of his life, because you get the sense that this is something he’s been building towards.”

Unlike previous royal couples, Ms Douglas said Harry and Meghan appeared informal and down-to-earth.

All three of William and Kate’s children were announced to the world’s media within 24 hours of their birth, on the steps of the Lindo wing at St Mary’s Hospital in London.

Harry and Meghan chose to wait until Wednesday, and showed off their son from inside Windsor Castle.

“They were there, and they were happy,” said Ms Douglas, who has written three books on parenting.

“They weren’t doing stiff upper lip, formal signalling stuff you might have seen in the past.

“They were saying: ‘we’re doing this differently, we’re a different generation of royals, we’re a different generation of parents, and we want to share our baby with you too.'”

Ms Douglas said the duchess’s feminism shone through in her first appearance since giving birth.

“You’re not going to go into a relationship, even with a prince, if you feel like somebody’s going to be turning the clock back on you by five decades or something,” she said.

“I think the expectation she brings to the table is that we’re going to be doing this together.”

Ms Douglas praised the couple’s “equal banter” in front of the cameras, which she said showed there was not “any sort of hierarchy” between them.