Meghan Markle and Prince Harry welcomed their first child, son Archie Harrison, in May, but a new report claims that the couple could be planning on expanding their family as early as next year.
“People are already speculating about baby number two for the Sussexes,” royal reporter Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight. “I think it’s probably a little premature to be speaking about a second baby. That said, sources close to the couple told me that they really would love to have a big family. They are, by all accounts, amazing parents. They are loving parenthood.”
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“They absolutely want siblings for Archie, so possibly we will have a pregnancy announcement — a second pregnancy announcement for Meghan and Harry sometime next year — but, for the moment, the focus is obviously on Archie,” she added.
Markle and Harry had been open about their desire to become parents, and Nicholl shared that the royal couple is happily settling in to this new phase of life.
“Their life has changed enormously and that was one of the things the sources I spoke to …. told me — that this really has been a life-transforming event,” she said. “Yes, they’re royals, yes, they probably have more help than the rest of us, but this really has turned their world upside down for the better. So, I think at the moment, they’re focusing on Archie, but I know it’s their plan to have more than one child.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrated their son’s christening over the weekend, and while they received criticism over not allowing the media any access to the event, Nicholl explained that the couple is trying to keep their son’s life as private as possible.
“You have to remember that Prince Harry grew up very much in the spotlight, never far away from the gaze of the cameras and at points in his life, that’s been something he has resented,” she said. “And my understanding is that at [their new home] Frogmore, they have essentially built a fortress, one of their closest friends told me it was their oasis, their sanctuary where they’re going to raise their child away from the spotlight.”
Markle and Harry were also criticized for the $3 million renovation that was recently completed on their new home, Frogmore Cottage, and was paid for by British taxpayers via the Sovereign Grant.
“They are tucked away there, they are set in acres of beautiful green space, you cannot get close to the property and behind the walls of Frogmore cottage,” Nicholl shared. “Archie is enjoying, albeit a privileged lifestyle, a remarkably ordinary lifestyle.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Dan Istitene
