We feel duty bound to pass on reports—unverified, we hasten to add—that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are taking their conjugal responsibilities very seriously.
We all saw the smile that passed between them at their wedding when the Archbishop of Canterbury wished them the blessing of babies, and now Hollywood Life reports Harry and Meghan are having “non-stop baby-making sex at all hours of the day,” and that Meghan is using “an app on her phone that tracks her fertility,” meaning she and Harry are, allegedly, making time for each other, “in the mornings, afternoons, and at night... and Harry is not complaining at all.”
While the veracity of the report on Hollywood Life, which is not exactly the BBC when it comes to royal news, can obviously not be verified, it is no secret that Harry, who turns 34 tomorrow, and Meghan, 37, want to have a baby, and soon.
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They talked about it in their engagement interview—Harry said, "hopefully we’ll start a family in the near future”—and some eagle-eyed observers claim to have spotted a few clues in recent days that Meghan could be pregnant; the loose fit of Meghan’s dress at the 100 Days to Peace Gala in London on Sept. 6 sparked a bout of pregnancy rumors.
While some may argue that Meghan’s intentions vis-a-vis conception aren’t anyone’s business but her own, the truth is that pregnancy rumors have been a feature of royal life for as long as the hereditary principle has existed. Indeed, pregnancy (or, to be more precise, the lack of it) was largely responsible for Britain’s split with Rome under Henry VIII and the establishment of the Church of England. The fact that Meghan’s baby will be Britain’s first biracial prince or princess has only fueled the national culture of royal baby anticipation.
Unlike Kate and William, who waited almost 18 months to get pregnant, it has been widely expected, not least because of Harry’s frequent comments about how much he wants kids, that Harry and Meghan will be aiming to make faster work of matters.
And they will not face the same constitutional dilemmas that confronted Harry’s elder brother. William and Kate’s decision to put off starting a family had multiple causes; primarily, the couple did not wish to overshadow the celebrations for Her Majesty’s diamond jubilee, and they also patiently waited for the British Parliament to ratify a change in the laws of succession that meant that any child of theirs, male or female, would have equal rights to inherit the throne.
British bookmakers have slashed the odds of the newlywed couple announcing a pregnancy next year, and many expect an announcement about a royal baby to be imminent.
However, other observers have said that Meghan and Harry’s royal tour to Australasia, scheduled to begin on Oct. 16, could be a clue that the couple are having to put baby plans on hold.
The countries of Tonga and Fiji, which are both on the itinerary, are areas where the mosquito-borne Zika virus—which can be very dangerous for unborn children—is prevalent.
Pregnant women are advised by U.K. health authorities to avoid getting pregnant for at least six months after visiting areas affected by Zika, which is particularly dangerous because it causes few or no symptoms in adults.
However, cases of Zika-transmission to unborn children remain rare despite millions of people living in areas affected by the virus.
