Article updated on 06/06/21: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have welcomed a daughter into their family.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed the news on Sunday, June 26 stating: 'It is with great joy that Prince Harry and Meghan, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, welcome their daughter, Lilibet "Lili" Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, to the world.'
'Lili was born on Friday, June 4 at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, California.
'This is the second child for the couple, who also have a two-year-old son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.'
On their non-profit organisation Archwell's website, the couple also confirmed that they will be taking parental leave.
'While the Duke and Duchess are on parental leave, Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site. We look forward to seeing you!' it concluded its message,' a message on the website reads.
The couple announced the news of Markle’s pregnancy on Sunday, February 14 with a black and white image of the pair at home in Montecito, California. In the snap, taken by Misan Harriman, the Duchess of Sussex can be seen cradling her growing baby bump in front of her husband of three years.
Announcing they were expecting a baby girl a month later during an interview with Oprah Winfrey, the duo also noted that their bundle of joy would arrive in ‘summertime’.
The news came almost a year to the day since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior members of the Royal Family and moved to California.
Over the last year, the couple have been keen to use their platforms for philanthropy, whether it’s launching their non-profit organisation Archewell Foudnation and Markle sitting down for a filmed discussion with Gloria Steinem about the importance of voting in the November 2020 US presidential election, or the impact of Black Lives Matter and racism.
While the couple have been incredibly busy over the last 12 months, it was expected that they'd take parental leave following the birth of their second child.
Here’s everything we know about Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s parental leave plans:
What are Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s jobs?
As to be expected, the couple divide their time between several projects.
In addition to launching the Archewell Foundation last year, the pair recently set up their media production company, Archewell Productions, and partnered with Netflix to create a docu-series, Heart of Invictus, about the preparations for the Duke’s Invictus Games 2022 in April
Prince Harry has also co-produced a docu-series, The Me You Can't See, with Winfrey about mental health, which aired in May, as well as taken a corporate job as chief impact officer at San Francisco-based mental health startup Better Up.
Meanwhile, Markle has written a children’s book, The Bench, which is out on June 8. The book is inspired by the relationship between her husband and their firstborn child, Archie.
Did Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take parental leave following Archie’s birth?
Despite rumours at the time suggesting that the couple would move to South Africa following their son’s birth (more on that below), the couple stayed in the UK.
Days after Archie’s arrival, Prince Harry flew to the Netherlands for the launch of the Invictus Games.
Four months later, the royals took Archie on his first official royal tour when he was just aged four months old to South Africa.
In September that year, Markle launched her capsule collection with Smart Works charity, on the rooftop of John Lewis, marking her return to work following the birth of her son.
Will Prince Harry and Meghan Markle take parental leave for their second child?
The couple have now confirmed they're taking time off after welcoming their daughter.
Vanity Fair recently reported that the couple intend to take some downtime off to ‘spent proper time together as a family’.
In the UK, statutory maternity leave is 52 weeks and paternity leave is up to two weeks. Shared parental leave enables those eligible to share up to 50 weeks of leave and up to 37 weeks of pay.
However, in the US the Family and Medical Leave Act requires US employers (with 50 or more employees) to allow mothers to take up to 12 weeks off (there is no requirement to provide pay). The Guardian reports that similar to mothers, fathers aren't covered by national paid leave policy. However, several states such as California and Washington have launched their own paid family leave policies 'which include parental leave paid at a percentage of the employee’s salary'.
Original article published on 23/04/2019: Meghan Markle's maternity leave is a subject of much debate in the press. As per Kate Middleton's example, it would be natural to expect the royal to retreat from all public duty, for a period of at least six months after the birth of her baby.
As we've seen countless times by now though, Markle is prone to bucking tradition, choosing instead to forge her own path, so why would her maternity leave be any different?
With rumours swirling that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might be set to move to Africa after the birth of their first baby, it seems that the royal pair might be deviating from the norm by quite some way.
After a report by the Sunday Times suggested that the Duke and Duchess could be set to move to Africa for two years as part of a new royal job for Harry, Buckingham Palace have had to get involved.
Neither confirming nor denying the hearsay, the palace released the following statement:
'Any future plans for The Duke and Duchess are speculative at this stage. No decisions have been taken about future roles. The Duke will continue to fulfil his role as Commonwealth Youth Ambassador.'
However, it seems that the parents-to-be might have their own post-baby Africa plans.
According to Daily Mail royal reporter Rebecca English, Harry and Meghan could be moving, but just for six months rather than two to three years, as the rumours had previously indicated.
English continues on to divulge that planning for the move is still in the 'brainstorming' stage, [and] there have been no formal discussions outside of the Palace.
Having reportedly fallen in love in Botswana, the couple have a strong tie to the continent in addition to the fact that Harry spent his gap year in Lesotho in 2004. As yet, the country that the couple will call home hasn't been specified.
A source also revealed to English that the newlywed's move is 'more likely to involve them going somewhere for a couple of months, rather than moving somewhere. When you look at the Duke's focus on environmental issues, it's a great opportunity to go and work in a more in-depth way in one place.
'It's an invaluable chance to be on the ground and do some hands-on conservation work, rather than undertake the "traditional" royal tour model. The Sussexes don't have the constitutional constraints that William and Kate have, so they have a little more flexibility to explore and be creative, while being respectful of the constraints of the institution.'
And before you ask, no Harry and Meghan aren't trying to get away from Kate and Wills. The fab four continue!
Meghan Markle And Prince Harry's Cutest Relationship Moments Are Making Us Well Up
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George Driver was the former Senior Beauty Editor - Digital at ELLE UK.
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