Meghan Markle’s most controversial decision yet

Meghan is no stranger to breaking royal rules — but if she follows through with her latest reported plan, she could face the biggest backlash yet.

There are many reasons to want to emulate the Queen: Her enduring devotion to lime green coat’n’hat combos; her steadfast commitment to gaffe-prone Prince Philip, her unwavering dedication to an ambivalent Commonwealth that only has a passing interest in keeping her on.

However, a new report suggests that the Duchess of Sussex is set follow Her Maj’s example in one surprising, and potentially alarming, way: She might have a home birth.

Lizzie had all four of her kidlets at home, at either Clarence House or Buckingham Palace. However every royal since her has opted for the sterile wards of London’s most exclusive and expensive private hospitals.

Meghan, the Daily Mail claims, has not only decided to eschew the $14,000-a-night Lindo Wing, but to dodge mainstream medical establishments all together and is considering doing exactly the same thing as the Queen and giving birth at home.

Meghan and Harry will welcome their first child any day now. Picture: Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

According to this unnamed friend who is quoted in the story, Meghan is said to want to welcome Baby Sussex away from the “goldfish bowl” that would be a hospital ward, instead preferring the privacy of her and Prince Harry’s newly renovated Frogmore Cottage, the enormous Windsor home the Sussexes moved into last week.

Despite being 37 years old, and therefore considered “geriatric” in obstetric terms (jeez, way to make a lady and her uterus feel old) Meghan is reported to have “sailed” through her pregnancy and thus would be a candidate for a home birth.

While the credibility of this report is up for debate, it would not be wholly surprising if Harry and Meghan did decide to take this alternative route to parenthood. Only last week they were photographed leaving Illapothecary, a wellness centre that offers numerology and homoeopathy among other services. The actress-turned-HRH is also thought to have kept up her yoga practice throughout her pregnancy and has been “eating clean”, People has reported. No sneaky Terry’s Chocolate Oranges or Hobnobs for her!

More importantly, it would be totally understandable if after a year of intrusive scrutiny and having faced a wave of negative press coverage Meghan might want to consider welcoming her bub away from prying eyes. To have the privacy and space to get to know her little one without worrying that a horde of nosy other new mums are just down the corridor.

However, if they do go down the home birth route, it would unquestionably one of the most controversial decisions Meghan has ever made.

Things can and do go wrong, sadly, during births all the time. Having a large and highly skilled cadre of not only medical professionals but shiny equipment can make all the difference between life and death.

Meghan and Harry moved into their new home in Windsor last week. Picture: Dominic Lipinski — WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists current statement on the issue says: “Even in a pregnancy without complicating factors, the level of risk to mother and baby with homebirth is at a level that is unacceptable to most women.

“A decision to give birth at home must be taken in the knowledge that there are relatively few resources available for the management of sudden unexpected complications.”

Even with bodyguards and a police escort on hand, should anything go awry during a potential home birth the precious minutes it would take to get to a hospital could be crucial. (When Sophie, Countess of Wessex went into premature labour in 2003 at home she was 15 minutes away from death by the time she arrived at Frimley Park Hospital.)

A lot has changed since 1948 when the Queen gave birth to Prince Charles. The wonders of modern medicine mean that rates of maternal mortality have plummeted and far fewer babies die during labour. While the Queen is an amazing example to all of us (I personally heed her example by drinking a daily martini) this might be an instance in which some things are best left in the past, like with Prince Philip’s questionable, racist quips and Prince Edward’s theatre career.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and freelance writer. Continue the conversation @DanielaElser