Duke and Duchess of Sussex expecting second child

14 February 2021, 19:31 | Updated: 14 February 2021, 21:09

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby, a spokesperson for the couple has confirmed.

Harry and Meghan are preparing to welcome a sibling for their young son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The news comes after the duchess suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage in the summer of 2020, and just days after she won a privacy case against Associated Newspapers Limited.

A spokesperson for Meghan and Harry said: "We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother.

"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child."

The couple shared a black and white picture of themselves, sat under a tree, with Harry resting his hand on Meghan's head as she lay in his lap cradling her bump.

Following the announcement, a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and the entire family are delighted and wish them well."

Meghan revealed her miscarriage in November last year in a deeply personal article for the New York Times, writing: "I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second."

The couple quit their roles as senior working royals in March 2020 in a quest for personal and financial freedom, and now live in an £11 million house in Montecito in California.

Sixth in line Harry and ex-actress Meghan have been busy securing the funding for their new life, signing a lucrative deal with streaming giant Netflix, rumoured to be worth more than £150 million, and another multi-million pound podcast deal with Spotify

They have also been working on their Archewell charitable foundation, but caused controversy when Harry was accused of political interference after he urged people in the US to "reject hate speech" and vote in the presidential elections.

On Thursday, Meghan was granted a summary judgment in relation to her privacy legal action over the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline's publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle.

The judge ruled that the publication of the letter was "manifestly excessive and hence unlawful".

Meghan said in a statement that the win was "a victory for all "because we all deserve justice and truth, and we all deserve better".

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex make their first appearance with new baby

She issued a deeply personal reaction after the judgment, thanking husband Harry, her mother Doria Ragland and her legal team for their "unrelenting support" that followed "two long years of pursuing litigation".

The new baby will be eighth in line to the throne.

Harry retained his place in the line of succession despite quitting royal life, and dropping his HRH style.

When Harry and Meghan's new addition arrives, the Duke of York, who was born second in line in 1960, will move down to ninth place.

The first seven places will remain unchanged - the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis, Harry, and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

The baby boy or girl will enter the line of succession behind older brother Archie.

Prince Harry gives first speech since stepping down as senior royal

Andrew's eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, will move to 10th in line.

His youngest, Princess Eugenie, will fall out of the top 10 to become 11th in line, and her newborn son will move to 12th place.

Baby Sussex will either be the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's 10th or 11th great-grandchild, depending on whether he or she is born before or after Zara Tindall's baby.

The monarch and Philip's great-grandchildren so far are: Savannah and Isla Phillips; George, Charlotte and Louis; Mia and Lena Tindall; Archie, and Princess Eugenie's baby boy.

The new baby will not be entitled to be an HRH nor be a prince or a princess due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V.

He or she is allowed to be a Lord or a Lady, but, in keeping with Harry and Meghan's wishes, will be a plain Master, like Archie, or Miss (first name) Mountbatten-Windsor instead.

As the first-born son of a duke, Archie could have become Earl of Dumbarton - one of Harry's subsidiary titles - or been Lord Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

But the duke and duchess broke with royal convention by making a personal decision not to use a title, thought to be inspired by Harry's wish to have been a normal child, rather than a prince, as he grew up.

The baby will, however, like Archie, be entitled to be an HRH and a prince or princess when the Prince of Wales accedes to the throne - although it is thought unlikely that Harry and Meghan will opt for such a change.