Meghan Markle Royal Baby Birth, Due Date, Arrival

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, is due to have her first child within a matter of weeks. While visiting the city of Birkenhead along with Prince Harry, the mother-to-be allegedly let it slip to an admirer that she’s set to deliver sometime at the end of April or early May.

Though it’s uncertain how far along the Duchess is in her pregnancy, Kensington Palace did confirm in October of last year via Twitter that she was pregnant and will deliver her baby in spring 2019. The announcement stated that “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.”

Once the healthy baby boy or girl is born, Meghan and Prince Harry will likely adhere to a specific set of rules and traditions per royal protocol. According to HELLO!, here are the steps that the Duke and Duchess are reportedly planning to take after the birth of their first child.

The Queen will be the first to know.

Queen Elizabeth II will be the first one within the royal family to know that Baby Sussex has arrived. After Prince George was born, Prince William did the honors of calling the Queen on a special encrypted hotline to inform her of his eldest son’s arrival. Before announcing the baby’s arrival to the public, Prince William informed Kate’s family first, then proceeded to tell the rest of his family members.

The Palace will release an official statement about the baby’s arrival.

After the phone calls have been made and the Duke and Duchess get their first few moments of peace with Baby Sussex, the palace will issue a statement through their official outlets, like royal.gov.uk and the official Kensington Palace Twitter account. It is also possible that the announcement might come through a new social media channel for the Buckingham Palace, since the couple’s offices will be moved there.

They’ll most likely wait a few days to announce the baby’s name.

In the case of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, their names were announced two days after their births. Prince Louis’ name wasn’t revealed on Twitter until four days after his birth. It’s very possible that Meghan and Prince Harry will make the announcement through Twitter as well.

Baby Sussex will have several names.

This is the standard for royals. Baby Sussex will likely have three to four names— a first name, two middle names, and a last name—that have to be approved by the Queen depending how close in line Baby Sussex is to the throne. This makes sense, considering that Prince Harry’s full name is Henry Charles Albert David Windsor.

Baby Sussex may not have a royal title.

Though the Queen issued a formal decree in 2013 announcing that William and Kate’s children will have royal titles, the same may not be the case for Harry and Meghan’s children. The Queen has yet to issue a similar decree for the parents-to-be, but if offered, Harry and Meghan do have the option of declining.

The royal baby can have anywhere between four and seven (famous) godparents.

Though there are no official details on who the godparents will be, we do know that there will be many. Prince George has seven godparents while Prince Louis has six and Princess Charlotte has five. It’s very possible that some of Meghan’s closest friends, like Serena Williams, Abigail Spencer or Jessica Mulroney, could be contenders for the coveted spot.