Did an Antarctic cruise inspire the middle name Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn chose for their new baby girl?
On Tuesday morning, the 29-year-old singer announced on Instagram that he and his wife, 28, had welcomed a daughter named Lyra Antarctica the previous week.
Cruise Critic reported later that day that sources revealed the couple took a cruise to Antarctica on Ponant's Le Lyrial ship in late December, about eight months before Lyra's birth.
Cruise Critic reached out to luxury tour company Abercrombie & Kent for comment. A spokesperson replied only, "It was very exciting to see the news of [Sheeran's] baby and her name. However, A&K respects the privacy of our guests and therefore we are unable to confirm that he was on an A&K cruise."
While Sheeran has not commented on the inspiration behind his daughter's moniker, it could possibly be a nod to His Dark Materials — a fantasy-novel trilogy the musician called "the greatest love story every told" in 2017, according to The Independent, and features a heroine named Lyra.
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Early Tuesday morning, the singer and his wife, 28, announced the birth of their baby girl in a sweet message on Instagram — revealing that their new bundle of joy was born the week prior.
"Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you … Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter — Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran," Sheeran wrote alongside an adorable photo of a pair of baby socks on top of a blue and green blanket.
"We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I'll see you when it's time to come back, Ed x."
The Sun reported in February 2019 that Sheeran and his longtime girlfriend had tied the knot the previous December at their home in Suffolk, England, in front of 40 friends and family members. According to the outlet, the pair was planning a larger celebration for their wider group of friends in the summer.
"Ed got married a few days before Christmas. It was very quiet — just Ed's oldest school pals, limited family and the priest," The Sun reported. "He wanted no fuss and he wanted it to be something entirely for them — just a tiny winter wedding … Neither of them was that fussed about making a big deal about it."
The British singer confirmed his marriage in July of that year, during a video interview with iHeart Radio's Charlamagne The God posted to his YouTube channel.
When Charlamagne Tha God asked about his more personal lyrics on "Remember the Name" featuring Eminem and 50 Cent, Sheeran referenced the verse that says, "Watch how the lyrics in the songs might get twisted / My wife wears red, but looks better without the lipstick."
"It was actually before me and Cherry got married and I knew that we'd be married by the point that the song came out," he continued. "[I thought] Someone's gonna hear that and be like, 'Oh, they're married!' I didn't know how that would be construed, but obviously it's already come out."
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