Ever since the news broke that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are expecting their first child together there’s been no shortage of speculation about their little one from the sex of the baby to what they may name him or her. There has also been a lot of questions about the rules and regulations that are in place for the duchess while pregnant and after giving birth.
One of the pregnancy rules Markle needs to follow is about who she can tell right after she actually gives birth. While most people opt to call their parents who are the baby’s grandparents first that won’t be the case with the Duchess of Sussex as she cannot tell her mother, Doria Ragland, immediately.
Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland | Steve Parsons-Pool/Getty Images
While a source told Vanity Fair’s royal correspondent Katie Nicholl that Ragland will likely be with her daughter and the prince in the days following the child’s birth she won’t be the first one to know about it. Here’s who needs to know before anyone else and why.
Who must be told first?
You might not think that a newborn’s great-grandmother would be the highest name on the list of people to call immediately following the birth but when the child’s great-granny is Queen Elizabeth II things are a little different.
Her Majesty must always be the first to know about the royal birth before siblings, friends, and even the child’s grandparents. So Ragland will only know the baby has arrived after the queen hears the news.
This was also the case with Harry’s brother, William, and his wife, Kate Middleton, upon the birth of each of their three children. When Middleton gave birth to Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis at the private Lindo Wing in St. Mary’s, William reportedly contacted the queen first via an encrypted phone to share the news.
Queen Elizabeth II | Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images
What happens next?
After HM is notified, the good news can be shared with the rest of the world. While the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be busy phoning friends and loved ones the birth will be revealed to the British public on an easel outside Buckingham Palace which will include the gender of the child and mother’s well-being.
The gender is only revealed then because according to another royal tradition, even the parents don’t find out what the sex of their baby is beforehand. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge reportedly did not learn what the gender of their kids until they were born. However, some people speculate that they may have known about Prince Louis after William slipped at a soccer match and said, “I’m going to insist the baby is called Jack” before catching himself and saying, “Or Jackie.”
Either way, Markle and Harry haven’t had any problems breaking royal protocol in the past so there’s no telling what they will and won’t do once their little one arrives.
Read more: What Titles Would Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Future Children Have?
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