The Rules Meghan Markle Had To Follow When She Was Expecting

Rumors that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were expecting started swirling long before they even announced their engagement. In July 2018, Meghan seemingly shut those rumors down when she was seen sipping champagne during a royal visit to Ireland. Still, people can’t help but get excited for the newlyweds. But when the time did come, there are a lot of royal protocols Meghan had to adhere to — including the fact that she wasn’t supposed to have a baby shower!

People Were Excited For A Baby Since Day One

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Not long after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex exchanged vows in May 2018, the public already began speculating that Meghan Markle was pregnant. Even though those were just rumors, people are undeniably excited for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to have a kid.

In November 2017, the couple sat down for a BBC interview in which they were asked about their thoughts on having children. Prince Harry seemed to lead with the answer, replying, “Not currently, no… One step at a time.” As Meghan looked at him and nodded in agreement, he continued, “Hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future.” They sure didn’t waste much time, as they announced they were expecting in October 2018.

No Big Gender Reveal

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These days it’s trendy to have a convoluted way to reveal your baby’s gender to your friends and family, but this is one modern tradition that royals won’t ever take part in. Announcing a royal pregnancy is big enough as it is, but the public is entirely kept in the dark regarding the new royal’s gender.

In fact, some sources allege that the expecting parents don’t find out until the birth either! The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly didn’t know Prince Louis was a boy until he was born, but this is was apparently their preference.

No Baby Showers Either… Maybe

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When Meghan Markle became pregnant, planning a baby shower was completely unnecessary. The royals never have baby showers, because baby showers aren’t much of a thing in the U.K. anyway.

Royal expert Victoria Arbiter explained to Express that royals are already “very wealthy,” so to throw “a lavish baby shower would be seen as highly inappropriate… There’s nothing they can’t go out and buy themselves.” But as we saw, Meghan “broke” this rule when Serena Williams threw her a lavish bash in NYC in early 2018.

She Can’t Go Anywhere

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Royal rules dictate that Meghan Markle couldn’t return to the States to visit her mother or celebrate her bundle of joy with friends once she became pregnant. Instead, they should probably come to her. This isn’t to say that she’d be restricted from traveling completely, in fact, most pregnant royals keep up engagements through most of their pregnancy.

However, it is reported that pregnant royals are discouraged from traveling too much as a safety measure. Expecting royal mothers are encouraged to stay close to home in the event that emergency services are needed during the pregnancy.

No Unique Baby Names? We’ll See About That…

While modern-day celebrities often pick nouns or descriptors as names (Apple, Blue Ivy, etc.), royals can’t be quite as creative. They typically stick to a shortlist of recycled classic names depending on how far down the line of succession the baby is.

This is why we have Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as opposed to names as unique as Peaches and Pixie Geldof. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s children are not likely to ascend the throne (Prince Harry is sixth in line behind his father, Prince William, and his nephews and niece), so they ended up going with a name not tied to tradition: Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

The Queen Finds Out First

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When Meghan Markle finally became pregnant for her first royal baby with Prince Harry, the first person they were obligated to call is the Queen. You’d think that the newborn’s grandparents would be first, but in most cases, the Queen finds out before anyone else whenever one of her progeny has been born.

Upon Prince George’s birth in 2013, for example, Prince William called his grandmother right away to personally deliver the good news. It was such a serious matter that he had to call her through an encrypted phone to avoid having the news leak before Buckingham Palace made the official announcement.

Debuting Hours After Birth

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There’s no pausing from the moment of going into labor to taking the baby home. While most mothers are resting their bodies in the hours after delivery, royal mothers are prepping themselves for a public appearance.

Royal mothers debut their newborns outside the hospital doors mere hours after giving birth, which has been protocol ever since royals began delivering in hospitals. For example, people were tipped off that Kate Middleton had finally delivered Prince George in 2013 when her hairdresser was spotted entering the Lindo Wing. This is something Meghan Markle said she would not participate in, and she didn’t. Rather, she and Harry showed off their newborn two days after his birth, in a small event at St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, Windsor.

Meghan And Harry, Expecting!

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The baby bump mania was huge! On October 15, 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an announcement that thrilled royal watchers around the world! Five months after their wedding, Harry and Meghan told everyone that they’re expecting a little one to arrive sometime in the spring.

The exciting announcement was made as the couple arrived in Australia for their first official royal tour together. Their baby will be the Queen’s eighth great-grandchild. Harry and Meghan told her of the news during Princess Eugenie’s wedding the prior week. At the time of the announcement, Meghan, was 12 weeks along (meaning the baby was conceived in July) and her doctors said that she’s in “good health.” We were thrilled for the couple!

We Didn’t Expect An Announcement So Soon

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For all the speculation surrounding Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the moment, it was said that we should probably not expect a pregnancy announcement until they’ve been married for at least a year. Express reported in August 2018 that Meghan Markle will be putting her health first ahead of getting pregnant.

In October of that year, she was slated to embark on her first official royal tour to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand. As a result, she’d want to avoid the side affects of traveling if she were to find herself pregnant since she is more likely to experience health risks such as miscarriage within the first 12 weeks. However, Harry and Meghan announced as they touched down in Australia that they are expecting their first child! Meghan, 37, is in “good health.”

Meghan And Harry Don’t Have Custody of Their Child

As we’ve learned, Meghan and Harry have their share of unconventional hurdles to leap on their way to becoming parents — but this one is beyond strange to us. The royal couple technically don’t have custody of their child. But why?

This all boils down to a strange custody arrangement with Queen Elizabeth II. According to royal expert Marlene Koenig, “The sovereign has legal custody of the minor grandchildren.” This practice actually dates back to King George I who didn’t have a strong relationship with his son. The King established the rule to ensure he would be the guardian of his future grandchild. Now, it’s been 300 years and things still haven’t changed! And yes, this means that the Queen technically has custody over Prince William and Kate Middleton’s children.

The Real Reason The Child Is Not A Prince

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When a royal baby is born, they often get outfitted with royal titles. For example, Prince George and Princess Charlotte are already referred to as His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness, respectively. Most members of the royal family become an HRH, but unfortunately for the Duke and Duchess, their son is too far down in the line of succession (he or she will be seventh in line, pushing newly wed Princess Eugenie to eighth) to be granted these titles.

This is thanks to a limit on royal titles that Harry’s great great grandfather, King George V, put into place in 1917. There is a possibility however that the Queen herself could step in and bestow the future bundle of joy with a title. But did you ever notice how none of these people really have last names? It’s true. If a royal needs to have a surname, they usually are given the name of their house. When Prince George started school, for example, he was enrolled as George Cambridge, since his parents are the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

At Least She Can Give Birth In An Actual Hospital

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It was thought that the first child born to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be born at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in Paddington just outside of western London.

Traditionally, royals had at-home births, but this changed when Princess Diana had Prince William. He was the first royal born in a hospital and since him, other royals have followed suit. Meghan and Harry were said to have decided to have their baby at their home, Frogmore House, but in the end he was delivered at the Portland Hospital in London.

Prince Harry Got To Witness It

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When Meghan Markle gave birth, she had Prince Harry by her side to offer whatever support she needs. But if this birth were happening 30 years earlier, they would not have been as likely to be together during such trying times.

Traditionally, whenever a new royal was about to be born, there were to be no men allowed in the delivery room — not even the father! This tradition was not followed, of course, when Princess Diana gave birth to Prince William. Prince Charles was there when William entered the world. Many people don’t know that Prince Philip attended the birth of Prince Edward in 1964.

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