It’s a boy for Harry and Meghan
New royal family addition is seventh in line to the British throne
LONDON: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child yesterday.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now parents to a baby boy, according to their official Instagram.
The new addition to the royal family will be seventh in line to the throne.
In line with royal tradition, the couple, who married in Windsor last May, did not announce the sex of their baby until its birth, a decision that Prince William and Kate Middleton also made with their three children.
Since Markle’s pregnancy announcement last October, bookmakers have placed bets in a wide variety of categories in relation to the royal baby, including name and gender predictions.
Royal watchers tried to glean information from such events as the baby shower hosted by Serena Williams in New York, which some viewers noted had “girly” decorations.
However, the palace kept a tight hold on news surrounding Markle’s pregnancy in recent weeks as the due date approached.
Last month, she and Prince Harry – who are known officially as the duchess and duke of Sussex – issued a statement thanking wellwishers “for the goodwill they have received from people throughout the United Kingdom and around the world”, but saying they had “taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private”.
There had been speculation that the birth took place over Easter weekend, April 20-21.
Rumours that the birth had already happened were fuelled by reports that the baby’s great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, dropped in to visit Markle and Prince Harry at their newly renovated home, Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle.
With the birth comes some changes to the royal family tree, bumping Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, to eighth in line to the throne and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to ninth and 10th place.
Just in time to welcome their first child, the duke and duchess also created an official Instagram account recently, @sussexroyal, where the two said they planned to share formal announcements and projects they’re working on. — Reuters