Just five months after their royal wedding, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex surprised fans by announcing they were expecting their first child, Prince Archie, during their royal tour of Australia in October 2018. At first glance, their fairytale love story seemed to have transitioned smoothly from marital bliss to parenthood. However, Meghan’s pregnancy journey was far from easy.
In his memoir “Spare”, Prince Harry admitted that he had always wanted to be a father since he was young. Therefore, it is not surprising that both of them wanted to have children right after getting married. However, the busy schedule along with Meghan’s unexplained weight loss became an obstacle to this dream. Harry shared: “We did not want to wait. We both wanted to have children immediately. Our work is very busy, the time is not ideal, but that’s okay. This has always been our top priority.”
Prince Harry also revealed Meghan Markle’s diet at the time. They were worried that the stress of everyday life could prevent her from conceiving. Harry wrote: “The signs were starting to show. Meg had lost a lot of weight over the past year, despite eating lots of Shepherd’s pie. ‘I’m eating more than ever,’ she said – and the weight kept coming off. Friends recommended an ayurvedic doctor who had helped them conceive. My understanding is that ayurvedic medicine categorizes people into groups. I don’t remember which group she put Meg in, but she confirmed our suspicions that Meg’s weight loss could be a barrier to conception.” The doctor ‘s advice to Meghan was: “Put on another five pounds and you’ll be pregnant.” Meghan followed the advice and quickly gained the required amount of weight. Both husband and wife hope for a good outcome.
Meghan’s efforts paid off. The Duke of Sussex recalled the moment they discovered Meghan was pregnant shortly after. Harry recalled: “Meg was late. We bought two pregnancy tests, one as a spare, and she took them both into the bathroom at Nott Cott. I lay in bed and while I was waiting for her to come out… I fell asleep. When I woke up, she was next to me. ‘What happened? Is it…?’ She said she hadn’t looked. She had been waiting for me.” The two lines on the pregnancy test confirmed the good news they had been waiting for.
They shared the happy news with fellow royals at Princess Eugenie’s wedding in October 2018. Harry later admitted that his cousin and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, were “overjoyed” for them. The reaction of King Charles (then Prince Charles) and Prince William was also full of joy. Harry said: “We whispered the news, and Willy smiled and said we had to tell Kate. She was on the other side of the room, talking to Pippa [Middleton]. I said we could do it later, but he insisted. So we went and told Kate, and she had a big smile and was very congratulatory. They both reacted exactly as I expected – as I wanted.” Three days later, just after arriving in Sydney, Kensington Palace officially announced Meghan’s pregnancy on 15 October 2018.