BY: KATIE KINDELAN, ABC NEWS
(NEW YORK) — Archie, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, is going to be a big brother.
Harry and Meghan announced Sunday, Valentine’s Day, that they are expecting their second child.
“We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother,” said a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan. “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.”
The Sussexes shared the news of the pregnancy by also releasing a photo of Meghan resting her head on Harry’s lap. The photo was taken remotely by photographer Misan Harriman, a longtime friend of the Sussexes’, according to their spokesperson.
Harry and Meghan’s second child will be the fifth grandchild for Prince Charles and the 10th great-grandchild for Queen Elizabeth. Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie recently gave birth to her first child, a son, who is the queen’s ninth great-grandchild.
The baby is expected to be born in California, where Harry, Meghan and Archie moved in early 2020 after Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working members of Britain’s royal family.
Meghan gave birth to Archie in a London-area hospital on May 6, 2019.
More than one year later, Meghan revealed in a New York Times op-ed that she and Harry suffered a pregnancy loss in July 2020.
“I felt a sharp cramp. I dropped to the floor…I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” she wrote in the November 2020 op-ed. “Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband’s hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we’d heal.”
The duchess said she opened up about her grief in hopes of helping others who have suffered similarly, writing, “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”
In 2019, Prince Harry pledged to conservationist Jane Goodall that he and Meghan will have two kids “maximum.”
Harry agreed with Goodall that having a child gives parents another perspective on the environment, according to an interview published in the issue of British Vogue that was guest-edited by Meghan.
“It does make it different,” Harry replied. “I think, weirdly, because of the people that I’ve met and the places that I’ve been fortunate enough to go to, I’ve always had a connection and a love for nature. I view it differently now, without question. But I’ve always wanted to try and ensure that, even before having a child and hoping to have children…”
“Not too many!” Dr. Goodall said with a laugh.
“Two, maximum!” replied Prince Harry. “But I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation.”
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