May 6, 2019

Harry, Meghan's baby boy is 7th in line to the British throne. Here's why.

WATCH: Everything you need to know about the royal baby boy

Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, are now officially parents to a baby boy!

The newborn weighed in at seven pounds and three ounces. The baby was born at 5:26 a.m., local time, according to Buckingham Palace. Harry was at Meghan's side and both mom and baby are "doing well," the palace said in a statement.

The world had been counting down to the birth of baby Sussex. The newest member of the royal family is lower down on the line of succession than his cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

The baby boy is seventh in line to the British throne, behind her or his grandfather, Prince Charles, uncle, Prince William, three cousins, George, Charlotte and Louis, and father, Prince Harry.

Royal Line Of Succession
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Baby boy Sussex is ahead of great uncles Princes Andrew and Edward and great aunt Princess Anne -- the children of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip and siblings of baby Sussex's grandfather, Prince Charles.

(MORE: Internet hosts a ‘baby shower' for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry)

The baby falls ahead of them because he is the grandchild of Prince Charles, the firstborn child of the Queen and the heir to the throne.

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via AFP/Getty Images, FILE
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, leave after attending the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey in London on March 11, 2019.

Likewise, the baby boy falls behind his cousins in the line of succession because they are the children of Prince William, the firstborn child of Prince Charles.

(MORE: Who's who in the British royal family)
Dominic Lipinski/Pool via Getty Images, FILE
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend a reception to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the investiture of the Prince of Wales at Buckingham Palace, March 5, 2019 in London.

Baby boy Sussex's place in the line of succession would not have changed thanks to an act of Parliament that came when Duchess Kate was pregnant with Prince George, now five-years-old.

The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 states that succession to the throne would be based wholly on birth order, not sex.

Dominic Lipinski/Pool Photo via AP
Duchess of Cambridge, Kate and Britain's Prince William with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis as they arrive for Prince Louis' christening service at the Chapel Royal, St James's Palace, London, July 9, 2018.

Princess Charlotte, 3, was the first beneficiary of the act. She retained her spot in the line of succession when her younger brother, Prince Louis, was born last year.

Baby Sussex will not automatically be a prince, unlike the cousins, who were designated as his or her royal highness and given the title of prince or princess.

The baby's great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, can step in to give him that title, however.