The Startling Truth the Meghan Markle Birth Drama Has Revealed

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby hasn't even been born yet, and already it's telling us so much about the nature of the monarchy.

With the Duchess of Sussex's due date fast approaching—or just past, no one really knows—speculation is raging as to the circumstances in which she will actually be delivered of a son or daughter, as the official announcement traditionally states.

But will there even be that exactly worded announcement posted outside the Buckingham Palace gates? Where will the baby be delivered, in London or closer to Harry and Meghan's new residence in Windsor? At a hospital or at home, hearkening back to the way it was always done before Princess Anne and Princess Dianaeschewed the norms of previous generations?

Harry and Meghan have "taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private," a Buckingham Palace spokesman said earlier this month.

Lest anyone needs reminding, when Kate Middleton gave birth to each of her three children, the process unfolded, from the declaration of labor to their first photo op, with military precision. It felt as if there was no room for error and, luckily, the babies obliged.

So that's the royal baby protocol we've been used to for the past six years, and the wait-and-see nature of Meghan's pregnancy—which, in real life, is obviously the more normal of the two scenarios—has driven home not just the differing sensibilities between Kate and Meghan (Kate, unless she really wanted to rock the boat, didn't exactly have too much say in the matter), but just how different Harry and his older brother Prince William's lives are—and have been all along.





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