Baby Archie given a South African name during royal tour
Baby Archie has received a South African name during the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal tour of the country.
It seems like just yesterday that the young royal’s moniker, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was announced.
But now the four-month-old, who is currently experiencing his first royal tour with parents Meghan Markle, 38, and Prince Harry, 35, has been given a new name to go by, courtesy of South African organisation Justice Desk.
Yesterday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex visited South African township Nyanga to meet with the human rights advocacy group.
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During the engagement, Jessica Dewhurst, the group’s CEO and founder, presented the royal couple with a framed naming certificate explaining the meaning of Archie’s South African name.
The given name is “Ntsika”: It’s a traditional South African name, pronounced “in-Tsee-kah”.
Dewhurst explained to the couple it has a similar meaning to the name Archie – a name of German origin that means “brave”.
"When your beautiful boy was born you gave him the name Archie," Dewhurst told the couple.
"The name Archie means 'bravery and strength.' So to welcome Archie home, your family at the Justice Desk has given him the traditional South African name Ntsika,” she added.
“This name of Xhosa African origin means 'pillar of strength.' May you always be a pillar of strength for those who need you."
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During an interview with US publication Harper’s Bazaar, Dewhurst expanded on how the name was chosen.
She revealed it was “picked by the local township gogos (grandmothers).”
"It's quite traditional for foreign visitors to township communities to be given a South African name,” she added. “South Africa is the cradle of mankind, this is where the human race began, so we are all children of this country."
