Prince Harry has shared how Kate Middleton reacted to Meghan Markle’s pregnancy news, revealing that his sister-in-law’s response to the announcement went ‘exactly as I’d hoped.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose to tell the Royal Family that they were expecting their first child together at Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, believing that the event would allow the couple to “pull aside family members one by one and tell them [their] good news.”
Writing in his new memoir, Spare, Prince Harry reveals that his father, King Charles III, was the first of his British relatives to hear the update.
“At Windsor(opens in new tab), just before a drinks reception for the bride and groom, we corner Pa in his study,” the 38-year-old recalled. “He was sitting behind his big desk, which afforded his favorite view, straight down the Long Walk.”
Harry recalls that Charles was “delighted” by the prospect of being “a grandfather for a fourth time”, adding that “his wide smile warmed me.” At the time, the King was already the proud grandpa of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.
Harry then approached his older brother, whom he refers to as ‘Willy’ throughout his memoir, to reveal the big news. “We were in a big room, suits of armor on the walls,” he recalls, admitting that it was a “strange room, strange moment.”
To make sure nobody else heard, Harry and Meghan “whispered the news” to William, who “smiled and said we must tell Kate.” The Princess of Wales was in the same room at the time, but on its other side and engrossed in a conversation with her younger sister, Pippa Middleton. Harry assured the Prince of Wales that the update could wait until “later” but when William “insisted”, they decided not to delay any further.
“So we went and told Kate and she also gave a big smile and heart congratulations,” he wrote. “They both reacted exactly as I’d hoped – as I’d wished.”
Meghan gave birth to Archie Mountbatten Windsor on May 6, 2019, five months after the couple shared the exciting news with their family. She and Harry went on to welcome their second child, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten Windsor, on June 4, 2021.