Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage(LONDON) — Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, is in labor with her first child, Kensington Palace announced.
“The Duchess went into labour in the early hours of this morning,” the palace said in a statement Monday. “The Duke of Sussex was by Her Royal Highnesses’ side. An announcement will be made soon.”
Meghan went into labor in her 41st week of pregnancy, one week past her due date. She was last seen in public in March and waited out her pregnancy at home at Frogmore Cottage with her mother, Doria Ragland, and Prince Harry.
Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, will share more details about the birth of their baby, including its sex and name, after they have celebrated “privately as a new family,” Buckingham Palace said in an earlier statement.
The baby will be seventh in line to the British throne, falling behind Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince Harry.
He or she will also be the fourth grandchild for Prince Charles and the eighth great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Harry married Meghan last May. Five months later, they announced the pregnancy as they embarked on their 16-day tour of Australia, New Zealand Fiji and Tonga.
Harry and Meghan recently moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, some 30 miles from London. The couple appears to have made the move to escape the glare of the spotlight in London and have a private place to grow as a family.
Their decision to keep the birth of their child private signals Harry and Meghan do not appear to have any plans to pose for the traditional newborn-holding photo-op outside the hospital that the public is used to. Harry’s mother, the late Princess Diana, posed outside the Lindo Wing at St. Mary’s Hospital in London soon after giving birth to Harry and William.
Likewise, William and his wife, Duchess Kate, posed outside the Lindo Wing soon after Kate gave birth to each of their three children, George, Charlotte and Louis.
“Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private,” Buckingham Palace announced in April about Harry and Meghan’s decision. “The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family.”
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