The Duchess of Sussex’s pregnancy obviously took the covers of both Us Weekly and People Magazine. Us Weekly had the funniest cover lines – “two nations celebrate: Harry to be a dad!” and “the queen’s adorable reaction.” Now I can’t stop imagining the Queen ordering the corgis to fetch the prenatal vitamins. Anyway, in case you’re in the mood for some late-breaking news on how Meghan is really coping with the pregnancy, Rebecca English at the Daily Mail spoke to Meghan and Meg said she’s “running on adrenaline” and that she’s feeling “pretty well so far.” She’s also a bit tired, and she plans to try to undertake all of the engagements they have planned. As for Us Weekly’s cover story, here’s a taste:
Royals gone country! Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan, who are expecting their first child, plan to raise their kids outside of the city, a source reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.
While the couple have a built-in support system at Kensington Palace because Prince William and Duchess Kate live next door with their three kids, Harry and Meghan prefer their rented $5.4 million home in the Cotswolds, about two hours outside of London. “No one bothers them there,” a palace source tells Us. “They’re excited to raise children in the country.”
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a big deal about raising their kids at Anmer Hall, but now they’re living full time in London, and the kids are enrolled in school in the city too. I don’t imagine that Meghan and Harry will be given the same kind of time, when their kids are younger, to live a simple country life.
As for People Magazine’s cover story, sources tell People that Meghan’s “friends knew she was trying and that she wasn’t going to wait long because she’s older. But everyone was so surprised it happened so quickly.” Yeah, I’m not surprised? I always figured that she would try to get pregnant ASAP after the wedding.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, WENN, cover courtesy of People.
I think they mean they are surprised it happened so quickly due to the fact that it can take up to a year to get pregnant for women younger than Meghan. For her to get pregnant relatively quickly at 37 is surprising. Which I chuckle at because I’m sooo sick of women over the age of 35 being told they cant qont or will have a hard time getting pregnant. Im 38 and have had friends with children basically tell me I probably wont be able to have kids because of my “advanced age”.
I got pregnant at 39 and it was quite easy.
I stopped listening to people who want to drop that kind of negative energy into my ear. I’m single and while I would like to have kids someday, it may or may not happen. But I’m not closing the door on it and I sure as hell am not going to let anyone tell me to close the door!
Same here and it was super easy. Poor woman. No one ever lets you forget how old you are once you cross the 37 mark
Supposedly you get a last spurt of fertility right before 40, so 38 is actually prime time. My aunt was married at 38 and then had two healthy boys so I’ve always thought I had plenty of time, but I got knocked up at 30 which is only the most average age to have your first!
Yes – my sister got pregnant (unplanned) at 36 and she only has one ovary. It may be statistically harder for over 35-women to get pregnant (I never did after years of trying), but real life abounds with examples to the contrary.
Same here. Got pregnant on first try at ages 35 and 38. Good pregnancies and healthy babies. So it is possible!
37 was too late for me. I think it was wise for her to get cracking but that is coming from my experience.
I started trying for the first time on my 40th birthday. Everyone (including my OB) told me not to even bother trying the old fashioned way, just go straight to fertility treatments. I was pg within weeks. My second (at 42) took longer, about 4 months. That said, I knew I had genetics on my side. My great grandmother had her last baby at 45.
We started trying when I was a few months shy of 41, and got pregnant in 6 weeks. To be honest I was shocked myself just because the common narrative you hear is gloom and doom for anyone over 35. Which is not to detract from those who do struggle (my college bestie had a miserable time and it really changed her life).
I’m glad for Meghan and Harry that it happened so quickly with no stress. Excited for Polo baby!!
You’ve all given me a lot of hope. I’m 31 and heading into my second marriage with plans of having kids. It’s nice to hear it’s not a hopeless case. Most of my friends had their babies in their mid-twenties, so I’ve been skeptical on my chances.
It’s clearly not impossible but harder to get pregnant as you get older. It’s just statistics.
I started trying at 34 and now, almost 40, I’m 5 months pregnant from first round, first embryo of IVF. We had years of trying naturally as every test available showed we had no fertility issues.
I had brushed away comments from my mum or friends about trying to get pregnant: no one in my family ever had issues, I got my period every 28 days to the hour (5 am), and I was a low-stress, healthy-eating, moderately exercising model of a fertile woman.
And yet, I had over fives years of disappointment: I just couldn’t conceive.
Don’t take it for granted.
That’s some serious widening of her middle via photoshop by US Magazine!
They’re still in a rental? Didn’t the Queen give them a house of their own? I believe they’ll try country life, get bored and move back to London full time.
I think I read that William and Kate were forced to return to making London their base earlier than expected when Philip announced his withdrawal from public life, and the Queen made it clear she was going to cut back. As the next King and Queen, it was thought their place should be in the capital, and they reluctantly re-centered, so to speak, in London.
Harry and Meghan will have more latitude, luckily. The English countryside looks so beautiful in pictures. Meghan’s been an urban babe for most of her life, though – this will be a big change for her!
‘“friends knew she was trying and that she wasn’t going to wait long because she’s older. But everyone was so surprised it happened so quickly.”
trying doesn’t necessarily mean it will happen ASAP, lots of people have fertility issues.
Everyone is different. My mom got pregnant with me the first month she stopped using birth control and she was 36. I do get weary of the endless focus on the reproductive systems of women in the public sphere. Are we all just reinforcing the idea of women as walking incubators for fetuses ala The Handmaid’s Tale?
yes thank you – it’s great that she wanted a baby and got pregnant quickly but people need to stop focusing so much on women’s reproductive choices. It’s really crazy.
-signed, a married 34 yr old who is fed up with people asking me when the kids are coming because I’m getting older, and when I tell them I don’t want kids, I’m told that I’ll change my mind and it will be too late.
@Lala I hate that. Children were never on my radar. With my family background and my own illness I didn’t think I could successfully manage children- I could barely take care of myself. I ended up with three kids and I do love them but if I went back and did it all over again I wouldn’t have kids. My health hasn’t magically gotten better so it’s been hell on me trying to manage it all, and I feel like I’ve deprived my kids of a normal childhood.
Good on you for knowing what you want and not caving in to others’ desires.
Lala and Meghan NOT Markle,
Thank y’all. I needed to see these 2 things today.
@LaLa…I am 48, married 10 years, and childless by choice. Family, friends, people who know me, still occasionally ask about kids. I just tell them I’m too old to start raising babies, and dogs are great because….(then I start listing all the reasons I love my dog…she won’t ask for a cell phone, won’t ask to go to college, or come home pregnant cuz I’m responsible and she’s fixed)…I’m sure you get it. I hope by the time I hit 50, maybe they will stop asking! Hang in there, there are more of us then you may think!
-Signed
Fellow DINK (dual income, no kids)
Like the Daily Mail article about Meghan’s, and I quote, “geriatric pregnancy.” Ugh
My doctor used the term “Advanced Maternal Age.” It seemed kinder, somehow.
It’s a medical term. It’s not flattering, but it’s the technically correct term. My file with my second (conceived and delivered when I was 35) had a big, red stamp on the front: “AMA” for advanced maternal age. I tried not to take it personally, lol. 35 is relatively young overall, but in terms of fertility, its kind of on the way to your last hurrah for many women. Technically, Kate’s pregnancy with Louis was “geriatric” or “advanced maternal age” too, but the press didn’t focus on that because he was her third, not her first.
Mego, I got warned about geriatric pregnancy by a new doctor when I went in for my annual at 31 lol. And I had gone in specifically to get refills on my birth control, so it’s not like it I was trying and needed advice. First and last time at that doc.
She seems to have lived a very healthy lifestyle as long as she’s been in the public eye – yoga, her blog – the tig was all positivity and healthy and living a beautiful life. That kind of positive outlook keeps you healthy, I’m certain (though I’m no doctor).
Genetics as well. I think people were given a mythical timer on their eggs way back, to encourage people to hurry up and do it. Now, more and more women are having healthy pregnancies past the ‘typical’ age. Good for her, she was ready and she did it. I can’t wait to see this baby. It will be adorable and they will be wonderful parents.
High Risk OB nurse here.
It’s not mythical. Fertility in a woman starts to measurably decline at 27 and precipitously decline at 37. Please google. Pregnancy is a huge burden on the heart/lungs/liver/kidneys/endocrine/immune system and the decline in fertility and menopause is natures way of protecting an older body from complications that can arise from the stress. Older women getting pregnant (particularly those in their 40s) are usually using some type of fertility assistance and have more complications. The fertility docs don’t broadcast that because assisted reproduction is a BIG profitable business.
Nature expected us to reproduce at 20 and die at 45. Google life expectancy in the last 150 years.
Glad sthat there are so many happy stories. Not for me tho. I had big hopes and none hapoened, only blighted ovums in my two pregnancies.
I just turned 40 in August and I’m trying to hold onto some hope. It took me a lot longer to find the right guy to want to try with than I ever anticipated. I never would have expected to be where I am now but life does tend to turn out differently than people plan.
I’m having a procedure in two weeks (hysteroscopy and D&C) and after that my doctor and I will be discussing my fertility. My guy thinks it will happen but we’ll see.
I’ll be sending good thoughts your way! Best of luck!
Misty.
Good luck. Sending all good vibes, energy, and happiness your way!
I think it’s sad that they won’t get that time in the country while their kids are little. I think people are very unfair on Will and Kate because they were given time, no matter what the press would like people to think. The Queen parents had a more relaxed time when the girls were young because her father was the spare and they didn’t do as many public duties as they do now. The Queen has always said that her time with Philip early in the marriage was super important to her. Fergie has said living away from Andrew in the early years is what killed their marriage. On top of that Charles has always stated not having his mother is what lead to all his problems (An exaggeration, but still). Will and Harry also have their issues from growing up during the War of the Wales’ and Diana’s death. If you take all of that into consideration, you can see why they were given so much time by their family. Harry doesn’t have that option because we have all seen what the press can do if they don’t think a member of the Royal family is doing enough.
Maybe because I’m currently 7 mo pregnant and extra emotional these days, but news of her pregnancy and the way that H & M interact with one another in public, just makes me so so happy. I wish her a healthy pregnancy and hope the baby is healthy.
I was surprised too. No matter your age or health, trying to get pregnant basically comes down to luck. I’m glad they were so lucky. The way they look at each other — they look like they know it too. Mazel Tov!
I am 36 and my husband and I tried for 4 months before we got pregnant. Unfortunately that one ended in an early miscarriage at 5 weeks. But happily we got pregnant 2 weeks after that and now I am 2 days shy of being 19 weeks pregnant! I was surprised to get pregnant that quickly both times. My doctor had told me that due to my age, if I hadn’t gotten pregnant after 6 months of trying that I should come see her for some testing. Usually she would recommend giving it a year but since I was a bit older she said 6 months. I will have just turned 37 when kiddo is born. I go for my anatomy scan in 2 days and am nervous but excited. I just hope it is still healthy and alive.
I have other friends who got pregnant in their mid 30s on the first month after going off BC. And friends in their late 20s/early 30s who went through 2 years of fertility treatments to get pregnant with their daughter. Now they are contemplating a second child but his sperm count is now very low and she still doesn’t ovulate regularly so they are not sure it will work out. And they are relatively young. Everyone is so different and I would not wish infertility on anyone who is trying to have a child.
Harry could have got more leeway had he married a few years ago. But as it happens he married this year when Phillip has already retired, the Queen is in her 90’s and cutting back on her duties and Charles and Camilla are getting old too. Harry and Meghan are both needed right now. Tough luck to him.
Also, I wonder they if they do move full time to the countryside will they get criticised in the same way William and Kate did…for spending X millions of pounds renovating their palatial KP apartment only to for it to be barely used??. If the rumours are true and they have moved in to the apartment next to William and Kate then the roof was fixed amongst other things and I doubt Harry and Meghan used their own fortunes to pay for the repair work/renovation costs as they don’t own the apartment/building. The taxpayer probably had to pay for that.
The word from royal reporters is that according to KP Harry and Meghan are still living in their cottage and have no plans to move in the immediate future. Apparently the renovations on that apartment has been going on before Harry and Meghan were even engaged. It doesn’t mean they won’t move there eventually, but as for now the Glousters are still living there. So, I don’t see anything the public can criticize them for since it seems that that part of KP has needed renovations in the first place.
Harry and Meghan ARE moving very soon into the Kensington Palace apartment which previously belonged to the Gloucesters. The Gloucesters moved out some time ago and are now living in the house which used to be occupied by an old retainer. The new (to Harry and Meghan) apartment has been renovated
I’m 25 and these ageist attitudes towards women in heir mid 30s and early 40s sickens me. My mum had me back in the 90s at 40. She was extremely fertile but my dad wasn’t. Needed ivf due to HIS low sperm count. It’s actually incredibly common for men. But nah, let’s blame the woman for not being 25. Most women are fine to have children in their mid 30s and later if they are healthy. Don’t believe the propaganda Hollywood perpetuates that only benefits old men.