Britain’s Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, announced the “very special news” that they are expecting their second child “in the way they want to do it,” a royal commentator said on Monday.
Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, stepped back from royal duties in January 2020 and moved with their first son Archie to Southern California to live a more independent life and escape the British media.
The Valentine’s Day announcement was accompanied by a black and white photograph of a visibly pregnant Meghan lying on grass with one hand on her stomach and her head resting on the smiling prince’s leg.
The photo was taken by longtime friend and photographer Misan Harriman.
“They’ve released a photograph which is rather charming,” said royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams. “The whole point is that this is doing it in the way they want to do it,” he added.
Fitzwilliams said that the child will be eighth in line to the throne as well as the Queen’s 10th great-grandchild, although the latter depends on when Harry’s cousin Zara Tindall gives birth.
The announcement comes 37 years after Princess Diana’s Valentine’s Day announcement that she was pregnant with Harry, Fitzwilliams said.
Since ending their royal duties, Harry and Meghan have continued charity work and signed TV and other media deals, launching their debut podcast in December.
In 2020, Meghan revealed that she had a miscarriage in July, in an extraordinarily personal disclosure coming from a high-profile British royal.
The couple married in a glittering ceremony in 2018 that captured the world’s attention but later gave up their official royal roles following disagreements with other family members and in the face of huge media attention.
