The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have announced they are expecting their second child.
A spokesperson for the couple 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 pair have shared a black and white picture of themselves, sat under a tree, with Prince Harry resting his hand on Meghan‘s head as she lay in his lap cradling her bump.
Harry, Meghan and Archie pictured in Cape Town, South Africa in September 2019
The news comes after the duchess suffered a miscarriage last July.
Meghan, 39, revealed her heartbreak in November 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 black and white image that has just been released was taken remotely by their friend, photographer Misan Harriman.
He tweeted the photo and wrote: “Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow. Congratulations to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!”
Harry and Meghan’s new baby boy or girl will be eighth in line to the throne, just behind one-year-old Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
The couple, who were married at Windsor Castle in May 2018, quit their roles as senior working royals in March 2020 as they sought financial freedom, and now live in Montecito, California.
Meghan recently won a High Court privacy claim against the Mail On Sunday
Harry, 36, retained his place as sixth in the line of succession despite giving up royal life.
Just days ago, the duchess won her High Court privacy claim against the Mail On Sunday over the publication of a “personal and private” handwritten letter to her estranged father.
In a statement after the ruling, Meghan, said she was grateful that Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday had been “held to account for their illegal and dehumanising practices”.
“These tactics (and those of their sister publications MailOnline and the Daily Mail) are not new; in fact, they’ve been going on for far too long without consequence.
“For these outlets, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships, and very real sadness. The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep.”
The 39-year-old sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline, over a series of articles which reproduced parts of the letter sent to 76-year-old Thomas Markle in August 2018.