MUM-TO-BE MEGHAN ON ZIKA ALERT
Warnings for pregnant duchess as tour takes her to virus danger zone
THE Duchess of Sussex has a carefully planned schedule for her tour with Prince Harry due to the risk of Zika to their baby.
The pair, who announced news of the pregnancy on arrival in Sydney yesterday, also visit Fiji and Tonga.
Mums-to-be are advised not to go to the islands. A palace source said: “They sought out top medical advice.”
THE pregnant Duchess of Sussex is being kept away from the rainforest on her first major international tour with Prince Harry, due to the risk of the Zika virus.
Royal aides have carefully planned a schedule for Meghan’s royal trip, which includes visits to Fiji and Tonga, to try to prevent her contracting it.
UK health authorities classify both Pacific islands as having a “moderate” risk of Zika, which can cause severe complications for unborn babies.
With Meghan expecting her first child, announced after they arrived in Australia yesterday, she will go for tea with the British High Commissioner in Fiji as Harry treks in the rainforest.
Zika is transmitted by mosquitoes, which feed between dusk and dawn.
Official advice states: “Pregnant women should consider postponing non-essential travel until after the pregnancy.” But we can reveal organisers have created an itinerary that will let Meghan forgo outside events at the crucial times and stay away from more prevalent areas, such as rural environments.
A senior palace source said Harry and Meghan have spoken to doctors.
The insider said: “The Duke and Duchess sought medical advice and were made aware of any risks, and how to minimise those, when travelling to countries affected by the virus.
“After taking counsel they decided together they were both happy to go ahead with the tour as they had originally planned.”
The couple touched down in Sydney yesterday ahead of their 16-day royal tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
Royal aides said Meghan, 37, is in “good health” and has had a successful 12-week scan, suggesting the baby was conceived in late July.
Days before their May wedding, friends told the Mirror the pair had spoken of wanting a baby “within a year of being married”.
Kensington Palace said last night: “Their Royal Highnesses the Duke
Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the spring of 2019.
“Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all the support they have received since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public.”
The Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Harry will visit Fiji rainforest without Meghan
are all said to be delighted for the pair. The baby will be an eighth great-grandchild for the Queen, 92, and is expected to take the surname Sussex.
But the child will not have a royal title unless the Queen issues a Letters Patent ahead of the birth, due to limits imposed by King George V in 1917. A boy is likely to take one of Harry’s lesser titles, such as Earl of Dumbarton or Baron Kilkeel. A girl would be known as Lady Mountbatten-Windsor.
Harry and Meghan have spoken of wantand
UP-CLOSE Zika seen under a microscope ing children. Harry, 34, said in their engagement interview: “Hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future.”
Meghan’s mum Doria Ragland was last month seen taking baby-care classes in Pasadena, California. Royal sources said it is almost certain she will travel over to help look after the child for a short while after the birth.
Doria yesterday said she was “very happy at this lovely news and is looking forward to welcoming her first
grandchild”. Royal aides remained tight-lipped on whether Meghan told her dad Thomas Markle the news before the official announcement.
She has not spoken to him since her wedding. Though in a TV interview a
month later he said: “She’s wanted children for a long time.
“When she met Harry and she spoke about how much she loves him, there’s got to be a child in the making, somewhere soon.” Hours after
touching down yesterday in Sydney the couple were seen strolling hand in hand in the grounds of Admiralty House, where they are staying.
They are in the city to launch the Invictus Games, which Harry
inaugurated in London in 2014. It runs for a week from Saturday, with injured servicemen and women from 18 countries competing.
In a pre-recorded interview aired in Australia last night, Harry said: “What the Games encapsulates really, really well is proving that human spirit is incredibly strong. And if you have the will, you can achieve absolutely anything.” Royal duties start today. They include a ferry trip across Sydney Harbour and seeing contemporary indigenous dancers. Later in the week the pair will VIRUS VICTIM Brazil baby with small head
travel to the drought-stricken district of Dubbo, 250 miles west of Sydney.
They will spend next Tuesday and Wednesday in Fiji, where they will be greeted with a traditional arrival ceremony similar to one received by the Queen and Prince Philip in 1953.
The couple will also unveil a statue to British-Fijian SAS hero Talaiasi Labalaba, before flying to Tonga for two days then later New Zealand.
The trip, with 16 flights and more than 70 engagements, is likely to be tiring for Meghan but aides said she is in peak physical health and “couldn’t be more excited and focused on the trip and can’t wait to get started”.