Why Meghan and Harry’s child will be the most modern royal baby ever
With mum-to-be Meghan, Duchess of Sussex already declaring she feels ‘the embryonic kicking of feminism’, it’s likely the Queen’s eighth great-grandchild will be her most forward-thinking.
Will Sussex Jr be the most modern royal baby yet? That’s the question royal watchers are posing.
With mum-to-be Meghan, Duchess of Sussex already declaring she feels “the embryonic kicking of feminism,” it’s likely the Queen’s eighth great-grandchild will be her most forward-thinking.
With the birth of Prince Harry and Meghan’s first child due within weeks, we take a look at everything we know so far about the latest royal baby:
DUE DATE
When Harry and Meghan first shared their news in Sydney last October, Kensington Palace announced the baby was due “in spring”.
This put the due date to be late April/early May.
However, in January, Meghan admitted to a wellwisher in Birkenhead, northwest England, that she was “six and a half months” pregnant, meaning she could be due slightly earlier than predicted.
GENDER
The pair say they don’t know whether they are having a girl or a boy. In January Meghan said: “We don’t know, we’re keeping it a surprise — whichever way, we’ll be thrilled with the outcome.”
However, fans are convinced it will be a girl, after an image of the cupcakes made for her New York baby shower last month was posted on Instagram.
Illustrator Darcy Miller shared a picture of cupcakes with a lemon and pink theme next to a bowl of pink sweets, so royal watchers immediately concluded that meant Meghan must be having a girl.
Betting agency Betfair agrees, this week announcing it had slashed the odds on the royal baby being a girl from 10/11 to 1/2 with the chances of it being a boy now at 6/4.
FUTURE UPBRINGING
On International Women’s Day on March 8, Meghan told an audience at King’s College London: “I had seen this documentary on Netflix about feminism, and one of the things they said during pregnancy was, ‘I feel the embryonic kicking of feminism.’ I loved that, so boy or girl, whatever it is, we hope that that’s the case with our little bump.”
While this is not something one can imagine has been uttered publicly by a royal mother-to-be before, it is definitely something many would have felt. After all, the baby’s great-grandmother is the ultimate feminist icon, The Queen.
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Its late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, would also approve; it was she who purposely raised her sons to be much more open and aware than previous royal generations, taking young Prince William and Harry to homeless shelters to visit residents.
“I take them round homelessness projects, I’ve taken William and Harry to people dying of Aids — I’ve taken the children to all sorts of areas where I’m not sure anyone of that age in this family has been before,” she told Martin Bashir in 1995.
“And they have a knowledge — they may never use it, but the seed is there, and I hope it will grow because knowledge is power.”
Diana admitted to trying to modernise the monarchy and said she hoped for one that “has more contact with its people … a more in-depth understanding.”
THE BIRTH
First it was reported Meghan wanted a home birth, and that she is practising hypnobirthing. Then it was rumoured she had hired a doula to assist her during the delivery, but North-London based doula Lauren Mishcon, who was named, has since denied it.
The palace has not confirmed where Meghan will give birth yet. With the couple due to move to their new home Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, there is a possibility she will choose to give birth at Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, where Sophie, Countess of Wessex had her children Louise and James.
However, according to the UK’s Telegraph, staff at the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, where Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge had her three children and Diana had William and Harry, have been told not to book any holidays in April.
Princess Anne was the first royal family member to break with tradition and have a baby in hospital, choosing St Mary’s Hospital for the birth of Peter and Zara and Diana followed suit with William and Harry — baby William made history as the first direct heir to the throne to be born in hospital.
If Meghan did decide to have a home birth, she would be returning to the ways of the past. The Queen had all her children at home — and it wasn’t until the birth of Prince Edward in 1964 that Prince Philip was present for the delivery.
When Prince Charles was born the first-time father was playing squash. By the time it came to their fourth child, The Queen, then 37, who had read about the new trend for fathers to be at the birth of their babies in women’s magazines, requested her husband join her.
Luckily for them, the requirement for the Home Secretary to also be in the room for a royal birth — as he had been for The Queen’s own birth in 1926 — was abolished by her father King George VI just before Charles was born.
FIRST PHOTOS
If Meghan does give birth in the Lindo Wing, she will no doubt have to do the dreaded photo-call on the steps of the hospital, in the same way Catherine and Diana did before her. Catherine has repeatedly astonished new mothers around the world by appearing hours after giving birth perfectly made-up with a blow-dry and sporting a smart dress.
She has also subconsciously echoed Diana’s own appearances on the hospital steps, wearing a strikingly similar polka-dot dress and even wrapping babies Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis in an identical merino wool shawl by G.H. Hurt & Son that Diana swaddled William in for his first photo.
However, when it comes to Meghan’s turn, insiders predict the fashion-forward former actor will want to do things her way and won’t follow the royal rule-book as closely as her sister-in-law.
Undoubtedly, she will look as immaculate as Catherine, somehow scheduling a hair and make-up session soon after labour. But as for the outfit, fashion pundits think she might go for something a little different — perhaps even trousers and top, in the manner normal nursing mothers usually go home.
“Meghan’s certainly forged her own maternity style during her pregnancy, favouring shorter hemlines and more body-conscious ensembles than Kate,” says fashion writer Elle Halliwell. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in a more modern look than a roomy, printed frock for the baby’s reveal on the steps of the Lindo Wing, such as neutral-toned pants and a jacket with black ballet flats.”
THE NAME
While direct heirs to the throne tend to take traditional royal names — Princess Stormi just doesn’t sound right — those further down the line of succession have been free to choose whatever names they like. Peter and Autumn Phillips named their daughters Savannah and Isla and Zara Tindall — herself having been given an unusual name — has plumped for Mia and Lena.
Betfair is reporting Diana, Victoria, Arthur and Alice among the top choices. But chances are they might go for something more radical — after all, Meghan’s best friend Serena Williams called her daughter Alexis Olympia. One thing’s for sure, if it’s a girl, it won’t be called Samantha.
LINE OF SUCCESSION
The baby will become the seventh-in-line to the throne, following Charles, William, George, Charlotte, Louis and Harry. It will bump Prince Andrew into eighth position and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie into ninth and tenth. It is extremely unlikely the child would become monarch.
CHILDHOOD
With Harry and Meghan heading out to Windsor to set up their new family home, it’s clear that they want to bring their child up in a slower-paced country environment. Unlike William and Catherine, who initially based themselves in their Norfolk home Anmer Hall, sending George to a local nursery, before moving full-time to Kensington Palace, Harry and Meghan have decided to do it in reverse.
They are leaving their Kensington Palace home and heading to the Windsor Estate, following in the footsteps of Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, who brought up daughters Beatrice and Eugenie nearby.
Similarly, Edward and Sophie who are based in nearby Bagshot Park, Surrey, and Zara and Mike Tindall who live in Gloucestershire, all bring their offspring up in a noticeably more relaxed environment and manner, away from the cameras.
So chances are the baby will be more like cousins Mia and Lena and Isla and Savannah than George, Charlotte and Louis.
Those children who are not direct heirs to the throne are visibly more relaxed, frequently photographed running around at family gatherings like the polo and playing with abandon, while George and Charlotte appear much more reserved, having to participate in formal events more frequently.
BABY STYLE
As for what Baby Sussex will be clad in — it’s certain it will have style and start another shopping frenzy as Meghan’s choices inevitably melt the internet.
While Catherine chooses extremely traditional children’s wear for her offspring, dressing George in socks and shorts and Charlotte in a series of smock-dresses, it is likely Meghan will mix high-end with high-street and throw in some eco-friendly labels too.
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