Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce they are having a baby girl
‘It’s a GIRL!’ Harry and Meghan reveal sex of their second child as they confirm their family but say ‘two is it’
- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed to Oprah their second child is a girl
- They are preparing to welcome a sister for 22-month-old son Archie this summer
- Harry said first thought was ‘amazing’ when he learned they were having a girl
- He added: ‘Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry today revealed their second child is a girl and is due to be born this summer, during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who now live in Montecito, California, said they are preparing to welcome a sister for their 22-month-old son Archie later this year.
Harry, 36, joined his 39-year-old wife for the second half of the bombshell interview on CBS with Oprah, and excitedly told the chat show host: ‘It’s a girl.’
He said his first thought was ‘amazing’ when he learned they were having a girl, adding: ‘Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing.
‘But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.’
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry revealed their second child is a girl during their interview
Asked if they were ‘done’ with two children, Harry said ‘done’ and Meghan said: ‘Two is it.’ She also confirmed the baby is due in the ‘summertime’.
The girl will not be entitled, at this stage, to be an HRH nor a princess due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V – but this is the same as what would have happened pre-Megxit.
The baby is entitled to be a Lady, but Harry and Meghan will again opt to style their second-born a plain Miss, with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
The couple announced on Valentine’s Day last month that they are expecting a second child, saying they were ‘overjoyed’ at their pregnancy.
If born in the US, the baby will be entitled to US citizenship as an automatic right.
To celebrate the news last month, the couple released a black and white photograph which showed them beaming with delight.
Meghan lay with her head in her husband’s lap, her hand resting on her visible baby bump.
Barefoot Harry cradled her head in his hand as the couple relaxed together under a tree on a sprawling sunlit lawn.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released this picture last month to announce they are expecting their second child
The picture was shot by photographer Misan Harriman, a friend of the duke and duchess.
It was believed to have been taken in Montecito, California, where the pair now live after deciding to leave Britain and step down from their roles in the Royal Family.
A spokesman for the couple said at the time: ‘We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.’
The announcement comes after Meghan, 39, suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage last year.
Harry, 36, is expected to return to the UK this summer to see his family for the first time since ‘Megxit’.
Meghan was already said to be unlikely to join him for ‘personal and practical’ reasons, according to sources.
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan hold Archie in Cape Town while visiting in September 2019
Mr Harriman said last month that being asked to take the photograph felt especially poignant after the duchess’s miscarriage.
He said: ‘To be asked to help share this absolute joy after such an unimaginable loss and heartache is a marker of true friendship.
‘Meg reminded me that had I not introduced her to a mutual friend then she wouldn’t have met Harry. I’m grateful for whatever small part I played.’
It came almost exactly 37 years after Princess Diana was confirmed to be pregnant with her second child – Prince Harry. Buckingham Palace made that announcement on February 13, 1984.
Harry and Meghan chose to put out a statement themselves on Valentine’s Day, in keeping with their decision to move away from their traditional roles within the Royal Family.
In what appeared to be a hastily prepared response, Buckingham Palace said that Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales and ‘the entire family’ were ‘delighted’.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex introduce their baby son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor during a photocall in St George’s Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019
It is understood the Royal Family had been told in advance of the announcement. But it was not clear how much notice they were given, and it was clear that Palace staff had been left in the dark.
The new Sussex baby will become eighth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William, William’s three children George, Charlotte and Louis, Prince Harry and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
Harry retained his place in the line of succession despite his decision to quit royal life.
Harry, Meghan and Archie left Britain for Canada in November 2019, meaning Archie has not seen any of his British relatives since he was six months old.
They then moved to California, where they have bought an £11million mansion and signed multi-million-pound deals with internet streaming companies including Netflix and Spotify.
Harry previously said in an interview with Vogue in August 2019 that he planned to have two children, in context of his increasing concerns for the environment and future of the world.
