In a break from the tradition of Kate Middleton and Prince William before them, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will not have a photo op on the hospital steps when their baby arrives – and they may not even step foot in a hospital at all.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl, the author of “Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss and Love,” tells Access that there’s a high chance Meghan is preparing for a home birth at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
Nicholl reports that she was told by friends of the duchess back in November that Meghan had her eye on welcoming her baby in a more familiar environment.
“It’s what she’d really set her sights on, and she’s very much into her holistic treatments,” Nicholl said. “She’s very much into her alternative health. So the idea of a home birth and a natural birth, I think is very synonymous with everything that Meghan is.”
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While the concept of a home birth may sound alternative, it’s not a move that’s disapproved of – or even unprecedented – within the royal family.
“It is a bit of a breach of tradition, but it’s not one that is being resisted at the palace,” Nicholl revealed. “And don’t forget, the Queen had all of her children either at Buckingham Palace or Clarence House. In those days, royal births were very private.”
Still, despite Meghan’s reported wishes, a home birth may not pan out for her.
“At 37, this is considered a geriatric pregnancy,” Nicholl said. “My hunch is that we’ll probably end up being in a hospital.”
The author picked Frimley Park Hospital – an English National Health Service facility that’s a 15-mile drive from Meghan and Harry’s cottage in Windsor – as her best bet.
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View GalleryEven if Meghan does end up nixing a home birth for the hospital, she could still end up doing things her own way. Nicholl tells Access that in either scenario, the Queen’s medical team will be on standby “in case of an emergency” outside of the delivery room, while the duchess’ handpicked obstetrics team takes the lead inside.
This move makes sense to Nicholl, who emphasizes that Meghan has made a pattern of eschewing royal norms.
“Everything that we’ve seen from the Duchess of Sussex is that she is not traditional in what we expect of the royal family,” she said. “So it doesn’t come as any surprise to me that she doesn’t want the men in grey suits delivering her baby. This is a woman with 37 years of experience. She’s very opinionated. She knows her own mind. She knows what works for her.”
While it’s unknown which obstetrician will oversee Meghan’s labor, Nicholl bets it’s a woman – one who could be flown in from outside the UK.
“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it was an American,” she dished.
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