Early days WITH BABY
How the Sussexes will be spending the coming weeks as a family of three
As Meghan and Harry adjust to life with a newborn baby, they will also be settling into relatively new digs, having only recently moved into Frogmore Cottage, located 40km West of London. The cottage’s extensive renovations saw it converted from staff residences set up as multiple apartments into a family home of about five bedrooms, including a nursery reportedly painted with white and grey non-toxic paint. Set on 14ha of park estate, the house is ideal for Harry, who is keen “to escape the goldfish bowl of royal life”, the Daily Mail reported. “It was actually Princess Eugenie who convinced them to make the decision as she had such a wonderful, peaceful childhood on the grounds of Windsor,” a source revealed to Us Weekly, adding, “[Frogmore] is secluded, peaceful, tranquil and, most importantly, private. No-one will see them coming or going.”
The new arrival is a distant seventh-inline to the British throne, bumping Prince
Andrew, the second son of the Queen, into eighth place, and behind cousins George, 5, Charlotte, 4, and Louis, who turned
1 on April 23, and dad, Harry. Speculation was swirling about what the baby would be named, with various bookmakers having James and Arthur as frontrunners for a boy (other contenders included Albert, Philip and Charles) and Diana and Victoria the top picks for a girl, along with Alice and Elizabeth. Per royal protocol, the couple can choose the name, but the Queen reportedly is always the first to know of the birth and the name of the child. William and Kate announced Prince George’s and Princess Charlotte’s names two days after their royal arrivals, and four days for their youngest, Louis. And these reveals are relatively quick by royal standards: Prince William’s name wasn’t announced for a week and Prince Charles’ for an entire month.
In another break from old-time tradition, Prince Harry is expected to take paternity leave. “It’s a modern thing,” Queen Elizabeth II’s former press spokesman Dickie Arbiter told Us Weekly. “Prince William did it for his children, and Harry’s going to do it for
his when his child is born. I mean, the older generation didn’t do it. The older generation just got on with it. But it’s a new thing. People do it, William did it and Harry is going to do it.” He added: “[The length] depends on him. I would have thought no more than about two or three weeks.”
Initially, at least, the new parents are set to lean on Meghan’s mum, Doria Ragland. The LA-based social worker and yoga instructor “plans to be around a lot when the baby arrives,” a source told Vanity Fair. “She wants to be on hand to help Meghan and Harry with the baby.”
Moving forward, the Sussexes hope to “bring up children who know the values of normal things in life”, says royals commentator Omid Scobie, noting the couple want their children to live a more regular life than their cousins. Says Scobie: “They’ll have chores, and jobs one day. They won’t be spoiled.”
For now, however, it’s just about enjoying the moment. “This is a very happy time for Meghan and Harry,” a source tells WHO. “This baby has brought them even closer.”