Suffolk pop superstar Ed Sheeran says he and his wife Cherry are “on cloud nine” following the birth of their first child.
The Framlingham singer-songwriter revealed on Instagram that the couple welcomed a “beautiful and healthy” daughter – named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran – into the world last week.
The name Lyra has links to both music and astronomy as it derives from the Latin word for lyre, a small harp, and describes a constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega.
It is also the name of the heroine in Sir Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials books.
MORE: Ed Sheeran’s new baby - how rare is Antarctica as a middle name?
Writing to his 31million Instagram followers, he said: “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.
“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.”
Last week marked a year since Ed’s Chantry Park gigs in Ipswich. Around 160,000 people attended the four gigs over August Bank Holiday weekend.
The Castle on the Hill singer has remained private about his relationship with Seaborn, a childhood friend who he attended school with.
In 2018, he announced that the pair were engaged.
MORE: What do you remember about Ed Sheeran’s Ipswich concerts?
It was believed the couple married in 2019 but at the time they did not share further details, although Sheeran referred to his “wife” in a YouTube video about No.6 Collaborations Project.
The video showed a series of couples from around the world – each with their own story about their relationship.
Towards the end of the video, the footage cuts to Sheeran and wife Cherry Seaborn dancing, laughing and sharing a kiss while in the kitchen.
Words describing their love story are shown as they play around.
“Back in high school, Ed and Cherry were crushing hard,” the message says.
“They made out at the castle on the hill.
“A few years ago they reconnected, there were fireworks.
“They married in January 2019.”
MORE: 23 of the best pictures from Ed Sheeran’s Chantry Park gigs
At the beginning of August, it was reported the couple were expecting their first child – after keeping the pregnancy secret during the coronavirus lockdown.
Ed was named the UK’s artist of the decade by the Official Charts Company in December when he also announced a break from music following two-and-a-half years of touring.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here