Meghan hints at baby plans during Belfast walkabout
THE wedding invitations have barely landed on their guests’ doormats, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are wasting no time in settling into married life, it seems.
Ms Markle has signalled their hopes to have a family in the future, gesturing towards an array of baby equipment during an official visit and remarking: “I am sure at one point we will need the whole thing.”
Her light-hearted comment, made in Belfast during the couple’s first trip to Northern Ireland, bears striking similarities to a joke from the Duchess of Cambridge just before she fell pregnant with her third baby, after she told her husband they would “just have to have more babies”.
Until now, Ms Markle has perfected the art of making small talk with the public without giving too many of her own feelings away, but appeared rather taken with the baby products.
On a visit to a Northern Ireland science park, the couple were shown some of the items made by company Shnuggle. Ms Markle proclaimed a display of a baby bath that allows the baby to sit up, a changing mat and Moses basket “very sweet”.
Sinead Murphy, who founded the company with her husband, Adam, said: “They seemed very engaged with the products. Harry was particularly interested in the bath.
“As soon as he saw the bum bump [which stops the baby slipping down] he understood immediately. He said:
‘Oh, non-slip’.”
Asked about the significance of Ms Markle’s baby hint, she said: “With an upcoming marriage it’s likely there is going to be an announcement in the next few years. No pressure on the lovely couple!”
On July 18 last year, the Duchess of Cambridge inspired speculation about her own family during an encounter with entrepreneurs who gave her three soft toys designed to soothe newborns.
Realising Prince George and Princess Charlotte were too old to make use of them, she turned to grin at her husband and informed him they would just have to have another.
The couple’s third child is due in the middle of April.
Prince Harry and Ms Markle are likely to concentrate, in the first instance, on their wedding, at Windsor Castle on May 19.
Yesterday, after invitations were put in the post, the Royal Collection released designs for their official commemorative china: a range of white and cornflower blue with a monogram of the couple’s initials at its centre.
Including large white ribbons and the coronet of Prince Harry, the china has a decorative border inspired by the ironwork of the 13th-century Gilebertus door of St George’s Chapel.
Unlike the com- memorative wedding china for Prince William and Kate Middleton, the set includes a coffee mug intended for more casual use than a delicate tea set. The £25 mug will join the tankard, plate and pill box, which featured in the Duke and Duchess’s wedding set, made in Stoke-on-trent using methods and techniques that have remained unchanged for more than 250 years.
Profits from sales go directly to the Royal Collection Trust, which conserves the collection of palaces and art. Some of the couple’s friends and family were yesterday still waiting to see whether their invitations would arrive, with the many overseas guests awaiting the post in the coming days. During a visit to Northern Ireland, the Prince and Ms Markle were greeted by screaming crowds as they visited young people to talk about religious tolerance and went to Titanic Belfast. They made time to sample the best the country had to offer, stopping off for lunch at former Victorian gin Palace The Crown to sample its Irish stew and sausage and champ, sharing half a pint of Guinness and a half of Mourne Mountains Brewery gold ale. They also received an unusual gift: the promise of a bespoke spade, made by a local company which has provided spades for the Queen and the Prince of Wales.
During a walkabout with members of the public, a woman in the crowd called Maggie told Ms Markle: “I haven’t got my invitation yet!”
“Oh my goodness, you’ll have to talk to Harry about that!” the bride-to-be replied.