Harry and
Meghan
‘Archie is
going to be a big brother,’ the couple’s spokesperson said. Photograph: Misan
Harriman/Duke and Duchess of Sussex/PA
Prince Harry and Meghan 'overjoyed' to be
expecting second child
Couple share picture of Harry resting his hand on
Meghan’s head as she lies in his lap cradling her bump
Caroline
Davies and agency
Sun 14 Feb
2021 20.21 GMT
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/feb/14/harry-meghan-duke-duchess-sussex-second-child
The Duke
and Duchess of Sussex have confirmed that they are expecting a younger brother
or sister for their one-year-old son, Archie.
A
spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan said: “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 couple
shared a black and white picture of themselves under a tree with Harry resting
his hand on Meghan’s head as she lies cradling her bump.
Misan
Harriman, a friend of the couple and the photographer who took the photo that
accompanied their announcement, tweeted: “Meg, I was there at your wedding to
witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow.
Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!”
Responding
to the news, Buckingham Palace said: “Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of
Wales and the entire family are delighted and wish them well.”
The
Sussexes’ baby will be the Prince of Wales’ fifth grandchild and the Queen and
the Duke of Edinburgh’s 10th or 11th great-grandchild, depending on whether he
or she arrives before or after Zara Tindall’s baby, which is also due in 2021.
He or she will be eighth in line to the throne and entitled to be a Lord or
Lady, but the duke and duchess are expected to again opt for Master, like
Archie, or Miss, with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
Harry
retained his place in the line of succession despite him and Meghan stepping
back as senior royals in January last year, and dropping their HRH style. The
Duke of York, who was second in line when he was born in 1960, will move down
to ninth place.
In
November, Meghan disclosed the devastation that the couple experienced after
she had a miscarriage last summer.
Writing in
the New York Times, she described how, as she was changing Archie’s nappy at
their home, she “dropped to the floor” in pain. She wrote: “I knew, as I
clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second.”
Addressing
the stigma surrounding miscarriage, Meghan continued: “Losing a child means
carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by
few.”
Speculation
that the duchess might be expecting a second child arose after she applied for
and was granted a postponement of her privacy trial against the Mail on Sunday
until the autumn for a “confidential” reason.
Any trial
was averted when, on Thursday, the duchess won her high court privacy case
against Associated Newspapers Ltd over the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online’s
publication of extracts from a private handwritten letter she wrote to her
estranged father, Thomas Markle, 76, after the judge, Lord Justice Warby,
granted summary judgment in Meghan’s favour.
Harry and
Meghan’s announcement comes just five days after the royal family celebrated
the arrival of Princess Eugenie’s first child - a baby boy.
This new
baby, like Archie, is set to grow up thousands of miles away from the Queen,
Prince Charles, and Prince William, as the Sussexes now live in Montecito in
California after leaving royal life in a quest for personal and financial
freedom.
The couple
have been busy securing funding for their new life, signing a lucrative deal
with streaming giant Netflix rumoured to be worth more than £150m, and another
multi-million-pound podcast deal with Spotify.
They have
also been working on their Archewell charitable foundation, but faced
controversy when Harry was accused of political interference after he urged
people in the US to “reject hate speech” and vote in November’s presidential
election.
Harry and
Meghan have almost followed in the footsteps of the duke’s late mother, Diana,
Princess of Wales, whose pregnancy with Harry - her second child - was
announced on February 13 1984, hitting the front pages on February 14.
Harry and Meghan to break silence in Oprah
Winfrey interview
Couple, who are expecting second child, to give first
interview since quitting as senior royals
The new baby will be born eighth in line to the throne
and become the most senior royal in the current line of succession to be born
overseas.
Caroline
Davies and agency
Mon 15 Feb
2021 19.44 GMT
The Duke
and Duchess of Sussex will break their silence in their first interview since
quitting their roles as senior royals when they sit down with Oprah Winfrey
next month.
Prince
Harry and Meghan, who revealed on Sunday they are expecting their second child,
announced their plans to step back from the royal family on 8 January last
year.
Oprah with
Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special, described as an “intimate
conversation” by the US television network, will be aired on 7 March.
CBS said:
“Winfrey will speak with Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in a wide-ranging
interview, covering everything from stepping into life as a royal, marriage,
motherhood, philanthropic work to how she is handling life under intense public
pressure. Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their
move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding
family.”
Winfrey is
a personal friend of Meghan and attended the royal wedding in May 2018, and
there was speculation at the time the couple would be interviewed by her.
It is not
known if the Sussexes informed the royal household in the UK about their plans
to be interviewed, but as non-working members of the monarchy they do not have
to give notice of their media commitments. Buckingham Palace declined to
comment.
The news
follows their Valentine’s Day announcement that their one-year-old son, Archie
will be getting a new baby brother or sister. The child will be born eighth in
line to the throne and become the most senior royal in the current line of
succession to be born overseas, with an automatic right to US citizenship.
Harry
retained his place in the line of succession despite the couple’s decision to
step back from royal life and live independently in the US. But his position,
and those of his children, will continue to descend the line of succession as
his niece and nephews, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have
children of their own.
Like
Archie, the new baby Sussex will not be entitled at this stage to the style HRH
– his or her royal highness – or the title prince or princess due to rules set
out by George V. They are entitled to be a lord or a lady, but Harry and Meghan
eschewed such a title for Archie, opting to style him plain master, with the
surname Mountbatten-Windsor, and are likely to do the same for a future son, or
use miss for a daughter.
The baby
will be entitled to HRH and prince or princess status once the Prince of Wales
– their grandfather – ascends to the throne, although it is thought unlikely
that the Sussexes will opt for such a change, having forfeited their own HRH
styling.
The
photographer Misan Harriman, a friend of the couple who shot a black and white
image released to mark the their pregnancy announcement, said he had captured
it on an iPad remotely. The photograph shows the couple under a tree in Los
Angeles, with a barefoot Harry resting his hand on Meghan’s face while she lies
in his lap resting her hand on her baby bump.
Harriman,
the first black male photographer to shoot a British Vogue cover– and the first
to shoot its September issue – in its 105-year history, said it had been an
“absolute joy” to be asked to help share the good news, especially following
the loss and heartbreak the couple suffered last year when Meghan had a
miscarriage.
Speculation
that the duchess might be expecting a second child arose after she applied for
and was granted a postponement of her privacy trial against the Mail on Sunday
until the autumn for a “confidential” reason.
Any trial
was averted when, on Thursday, the duchess won her high court privacy case
against Associated Newspapers Ltd over the Mail on Sunday and Mail Online’s
publication of extracts from a private handwritten letter she wrote to her
estranged father, Thomas Markle, 76, after the judge, Lord Justice Warby,
granted summary judgment in Meghan’s favour.
Harry and Meghan aim to avoid embarrassing Queen
in Oprah interview
‘Tell-all’ interview announcement has prompted reports
it will lead to couple being stripped of patronages
Caroline
Davies
Tue 16 Feb
2021 16.15 GMT
The Duke
and Duchess of Sussex will not wish to embarrass the Queen despite frenzied
speculation over their planned “wide-ranging” interview with Oprah Winfrey, it
is understood.
The
announcement by CBS of a “tell-all” intimate account by Harry and Meghan of
their “Megxit” departure from the UK has led to reports it is the final straw
for an exasperated Buckingham Palace who will strip the couple of their royal
patronages.
The couple
are said to have the greatest respect and love for the Queen and will not say
anything to undermine that, according to a source. They are determined to fight
to retain their patronages.
Reports
that the interview will directly result in Harry being stripped of his honorary
military titles, and of Meghan losing her patronage of the National Theatre,
personally bestowed by the Queen, are understood to have conflated two issues.
Rather, practical considerations, such as the couple living thousands of miles
away, are likely to see them being forced to relinquish them under palace
pressure.
Harry’s
military titles were put on hold for a year when Megxit was thrashed out at the
Sandringham summit one year ago. The agreement stipulated the position would be
reviewed ahead of 31 March. He is currently captain general of the Royal
Marines, honorary air force commandant of RAF base Honington and honorary
commodore–in–chief of small ships and diving.
Royal
patronages are entirely in the gift of the palace, so the Sussexes have no
control over them. The couple believe they have made their commitment clear to
each of the organisations concerned, it is understood. Had it not been for the
Covid-19 pandemic, it is said they would have regularly returned to the UK to
support those organisations. They still hope to be able to promote and
represent them on the world stage.
Buckingham
Palace declined to comment.
One source
said of the planned interview that as the duke and duchess were no longer
working members of the royal family, any decisions they took with regard to
media commitments were matters for them. As non-working royals, they were under
no obligation to inform the royal household of such plans, the source said.
Winfrey is
a close friend and neighbour in southern California. She attended their 2018
wedding, and recently promoted a vegan latte business Meghan has invested in.
Royal observers say the interview is unlikely to be hostile, and will have been
carefully choreographed before recording.
But the
announcement has led to a backlash against Meghan in the UK press, with
accusations she is invading her own privacy just days after victory in the high
court in her privacy battle against the Mail on Sunday.
There was
no official comment from the Sussexes. One source indicated that the duchess’s
victory established that individuals had the right to agency over their own
lives, and it was not for others to decide which elements of their private
lives could be made public.
There are
also questions over whether the interview will further strain relations between
Harry and his brother, Prince William.
The
12-month review of the couple’s status had been seen as a safety net while they
explored whether they could achieve their ambition of being independently
funded. Huge contracts with Netflix and Spotify have shown they have the
potential to establish lucrative careers in the US.
The 7 March
interview will be staged in two parts, with the duchess – who announced on Sunday
she was expecting her second child – first being interviewed about “stepping
into life as a royal, marriage, motherhood ... to how she is handling life
under intense public pressure”, according to CBS.
Later, they
will be joined by Harry and the couple will speak about their move to the US
last year and their future plans. Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime
Special has been described as an “intimate conversation” by the US television
network.
“This isn’t
going to be an unscripted interview. It’s going to be carefully thought out and
choreographed,” said Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine. “But
looking at the history of royal interviews, you just wonder if this will trip
them up.”
“The timing
is obviously significant because the [privacy] judgment had to take place
before they could finalise the interview,” he added.
“I think
Harry will lose his patronages, but not as a consequence of the interview. The
12 months is up and given he isn’t going to be returning to the UK any time
soon, his appointments with the military and other patronages have lost their
importance as far as the organisations are concerned.”
The
Sussexes would not be happy at the prospect of losing their patronages, he
said, before adding: “But finding freedom comes at a price.” Plans by Harry to
fly back and forth from the US to support those organisations could be seen as
hypocritical and undermine his “climate change credentials”, added Little.
Even
without the royal patronages, the couple remain indelibly royal. “As long as
they retain their royal styles and title, that is validation in itself. Harry,
grandson of the sovereign, will be son of the sovereign, then brother of the
sovereign. So that proximity to the throne is never going to change,” said Little.
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