Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, has given birth to her first child.
The new royal baby is Meghan and Prince Harry’s first child together, following their wedding last year (2018) on May 18.
The child is seventh in line to the throne, coming after Prince Harry and before Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II’s second son, who is now pushed down to eighth after the new addition to the royal family.
Meghan and Harry did not know until the birth whether they were having a boy or girl.
Meghan went into labour on the morning of May 6 and gave birth to a healthy baby boy hours later.
Speculation had been rife prior to the announcements after Prince Harry cancelled a planned trip to the Netherlands, as reported by The Telegraph.
Due to rules put in place by King George V in 1917, the new royal baby won’t be given a HRH royal title, so won’t be a prince or princess.
According to The Mirror, Harry’s great, great, grandfather declared:
The grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms.
The Queen could step in and change this though, like she did with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
However, Prince Harry’s family is lower down the line of succession and if the Queen did offer the courtesy titles, Harry and Meghan could decline, like Princess Anne did with Peter and Zara Phillips.
The couple announced they were expecting in October last year, with Kensington Palace confirming the news in a tweet.
It read:
Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019.
Meghan and Harry reportedly told the royal family about their pregnancy three days before it was announced to the public.
According to the MailOnline, the couple announced the news to their relatives on Princess Eugenie’s wedding day on October 12.
Although it was exciting news, it also was unfortunate timing.
Before their marriage the couple discussed having children, as they told the media.
In their first interview after announcing their engagement in November 2017, the BBC’s Mishal Husain asked if they planned on having children.
Harry replied:
Not, not currently, no [laughs]. Of course, one step at a time and hopefully we will start a family in the near future.
Congratulations to the family!
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