Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex and wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, has gone into labour, and how are any of us meant to sleep?
Sky News reporter Rhiannon Mills said Markle had gone into labour early on Monday and that Harry was with her.
Buckingham Palace has since confirmed the news at approximately 2pm London time.
A statement from Buckingham Palace reads, “The Duchess went into labour in the early hours of the morning. The Duke of Sussex was by Her Royal Highnesses’ side. An announcement will be made soon.”
The child, the couple’s first, will be seventh-in-line to the British throne.
Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, a US-born former actress, married in a lavish ceremony at the monarch’s Windsor Castle home in May last year.
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The baby will be the eighth great grandchild of the 93-year-old queen, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, and could be entitled to hold joint British and American citizenship according to nationality rules.
However, the child will not automatically be a prince or a princess as any such title will have to be bestowed by the queen by issuing what is known as a letter patent.
The couple, officially titled the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have previously said they intended to keep the plans for the arrival of the new royal private.
After the birth, a notice will be posted on a ceremonial easel on the forecourt of the Queen’s London home Buckingham Palace, a tradition which dates back at least as far as 1837 when the palace became the sovereign’s official residence.
With AAP.