Back in March last year, Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stunned the public with their decision to “step back” as senior (that is, actively engaged) members of the British Royal Family. Their reason, to have more privacy and financial freedom, caught flak from some quarters in the UK, especially when they end up settling down in former actress Meghan’s home state in California. When the Duchess announced in July 2020 that she had suffered a miscarriage, some sympathy was generated for her (as the stepping back was perceived by critics as her idea). Good news came just this Sunday, however.

According to PEOPLE.com, Prince Harry and Markle are now expecting their second child, and have been for some time now. This was revealed on social media February 14 by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex via a tender black-and-white photograph of the two of them outdoors, sitting on grass under a tree with Meghan’s head on Harry’s lap with her hand on a prominent baby bump. A spokesperson for the inactive Royal couple confirmed the pregnancy, adding that their son Archie, who is turning two years old in May, will soon become a big brother.

The picture, taken remotely by family friend and photographer Misan Harriman, carried an Easter egg meaning in Meghan’s choice of dress. This article of clothing, designed by Carolina Herrera, was first worn by the Duchess in 2019 when she was then pregnant with Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Even the timing of the pregnancy announcement was plainly engineered by the Royals, in that it was also in February 14, 1984 that Harry’s mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, announced that she was carrying him, some seven months before his birth in September.

It is definitely a welcome development for Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, especially after the grief she felt from her miscarriage last year, which she first suspected while in the middle of playing with Archie. Once born, her second child with Prince Harry will be the tenth great-grandchild to Queen Elizabeth II, and eighth in line to the British throne, after his grandfather Prince Charles, his uncle Prince William and his three children, and his/her own father Harry, and brother Archie. At present the Duke and Duchess are residing in Montecito, California, where they are busy with their new non-profit and creative media public organization, Archewell.

Image from Hello! Magazine