MEGHAN & HARRY: RAISING A ROYAL BABY
Modern lovebirds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are already rewriting the royal rules of parenting
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will bring up their child their own way.
Prince Harry was in protective mode. Explaining why his four-months-pregnant wife, Meghan Markle, didn’t come to an event at Lake McKenzie on Australia’s Fraser Island on Oct. 22, he indicated the bumpy terrain. “It would be a bit rough going,” said the dad-to-be, while sources later clarified that she isn’t sick, just exhausted on her first royal tour. “She wants to do everything,” says a royal aide, “but Prince Harry is encouraging her to pace herself.”
By the time a rested Meghan, 37, joined him
later that afternoon, cradling her bump, she “was glowing,” says an observer. She’s got a lot to smile about: The real-life fairy tale continues for Meghan, who’s enjoying every moment of her pregnancy as she makes plans with Harry, 34, to raise their little prince or princess in a mindful way, acknowledging their families (including his beloved mother, the late Princess Diana) without feeling beholden to royal tradition, sources tell Us. Says one royal insider: “They’ll make fantastic parents.”
KEEP CALM & CARRY ON
The first step is to start taking it easy. Meghan — who’s been getting up at 4:30 a.m. to do prenatal yoga and described pregnancy as feeling like jet lag — luckily isn’t suffering from morning sickness like her sister-in-law, Duchess Kate. But she does want to make “sure she gets enough
rest,” says the royal aide, “and isn’t overdoing it.”
She’s got a busy schedule waiting for her at home. Harry and Meghan will soon start their search for the perfect nanny.
“You can be sure that they will want someone who is trained at one of the best places in the U.K.,” a palace insider tells Us, dismissing reports that they’d already hired U.S. nanny Connie Simpson (who’s worked for Jessica Biel and Jessica Alba). Instead, expect them to check out Norland College, which has instructed caretakers for upper-crust families for 125 years — including Maria Borrallo, who looks after Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and Prince Louis, 6 months.
They’ll also be helping Meghan’s mom, Doria Ragland, get settled. “Doria is planning on spending most of her time there leading up to and after her first grandchild is born [in early May],” a second royal source tells Us of the LA-based yoga instructor, who’ll likely live in London.
Meghan’s estranged dad, Thomas, who’s said he was “delighted” by the news when he heard it on the radio, may not be so lucky. “Meghan is going to let time dictate whether or not her father will meet her child,” the second royal source says of the 74-year-old former Hollywood lighting director, who called the royal family “cultlike” in August. “She is going to be extremely guarded with the baby, so Thomas will be kept at a distance.”
AT HOME IN ENGLAND
Contrary to some reports, the royal heir won’t be a California kid. “There are no plans to buy a house in the U.S. as of right now,” says the palace insider. While the parents-to-be may still want their child to have dual citizenship, he or she will grow up primarily at their home in Kensington Palace — currently it’s cozy Nottingham Cottage, but they’re expected to move to muchlarger Apartment 1 — and their rented $5.4 million country estate in the Cotswolds, two hours away.
Like his mother, who was the first royal to break from traditional palace parenting protocol, the prince will insist on making family life as normal as possible. “He grew up with the entire world watching his every move, which has made him very private and somewhat resentful of the role he was born into,” says the palace insider. “He does not want that for his own children.”
Expect to
see the seventh in line for the throne get dropped off at school by his or her mum or dad (like future king George does), be heavily involved in charity and eventually pursue a normal career. Harry, who said he’s looking forward to the “new responsibilities” that come with being a father, will raise his kids “very much how Princess Eugenie and Beatrice were [raised],” the palace insider says of Prince Andrew’s daughters. That means 24/7 security, but also a little more freedom than William and Harry, who were bound by their official duties.
If Harry has his way, his kids won’t even have royal titles. Queen Elizabeth II would have to make a special exception for the Duke of Sussex’s kids to officially be called prince or princess, and Harry is unlikely to ask for it. Instead, says the palace insider, “they will be just like Prince Edward’s children,” Lady Louise and James, Viscount Severn, whose titles reflect their standing as an earl’s offspring. (Edward, the queen’s youngest son, is the Earl of Wessex.)
Harry, at least, would like a little Lady. He answered “so do I” when on Oct. 21 a fan yelled that they hoped his baby is a girl. But what will she be called? “We’ve been given a long list of names from everyone,” Meghan said on Oct. 18, adding that “she hadn’t thought of one [yet] as it was still quite early.” Alice, Victoria and Mary are reportedly in the running, along with Alexander, Arthur and Philip for a boy.
A special nod to Diana, who “smothered us with love,” Harry says, is of course very possible. “I hope she’s looking down [at our family] with tears in her eyes,” he’s said, “being incredibly proud of what we’ve established.”