How The Royal Family Reacted To Meghan Markle's Pregnancy

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stunned people across the globe when they announced that they were expecting their first child together — just months after tying the knot in May 2018. Kensington Palace shared the good news on Twitter on Oct. 15, 2018, telling the public in a tweet, "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019."

And though the public didn't learn of the pregnancy until the palace's official statement, members of the royal family reportedly found out about the good news ahead of time and were able to congratulate the couple in person at Princess Eugenie's wedding to Jack Brooksbank on Oct. 12 (via Harper's Bazaar). Surely Eugenie was thrilled to have her special day overshadowed... eek.

In the early morning on Monday, May 6, 2019, Harry and Meghan welcomed their baby boy into the world. But even before the newest royal made his official appearance, there was quite a bit of hubbub about the littlest royal when he was only still a fetus in-utero. So, how did members of the royal family react to the news of the former Suits star's pregnancy? Well, many are certainly overjoyed at the thought of Harry and Meghan expecting, but a few others were less than happy with just how the couple decided to reveal their good fortune (ahem, Eugenie).

Arguably the most important opinion from the royal family comes from the matriarch herself, Queen Elizabeth II, and her husband, Prince Philip. And, as could be expected, both of the royals were beyond thrilled to discover that they'd have another great-grandchild come the spring of 2019.

In a statement obtained by Us Weekly, Kensington Palace revealed that the Queen and Prince Philip, along with several other royals, were "delighted for the couple and were able to congratulate them on Friday at the wedding in person." Furthermore, a source told The Mirror that the royal family was "hugely excited" about Meghan's pregnancy and were "very happy" that they'd had the chance to share their well wishes to Harry and Meghan at Princess Eugenie's wedding.

Queen Elizabeth already has quite a few great-grandchildren. Now that Meghan has given birth, she has eight: In addition to Harry and Meghan's little one, there are also Peter and Autumn Phillips' children Savannah and Isla, Zara and Mike Tindall's children Mia and Lena, and Prince William and Kate Middleton's three kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis (via People). Something tells us that the Queen certainly wouldn't mind a few more great-grandchildren running around.

Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, and his stepmother, Duchess Camilla, were reportedly overjoyed at Meghan Markle's pregnancy news — as they should've been! But Prince Charles wasn't just excited that his youngest son has started his own family. According to the Daily Mail, Charles was eager to have another grandchild because he wants to become the grandfather he himself never had. As the publication noted, Charles' own paternal grandfather, Prince Andrew of Greece, passed away before he was born, and his maternal grandfather, King George VI, died when he was just 3 years old.

So what about Prince William and Kate Middleton's children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis? Well, the Daily Mail reported that Charles doesn't get to spend much time with them, as he and his eldest son often have conflicting schedules. So, with Harry and Meghan's baby boy Archie, Charles is probably hopeful that he'll be able to finally adopt the dear ol' grandpa persona that he so apparently wants.

Of course, he likely won't be the only grandparent fighting for time with Harry and Meghan's little one, as Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, said she was also looking forward to "welcoming her first grandchild," as noted by People magazine.

Like Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Prince Harry's brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton, were reportedly thrilled about the baby news (via Town & Country). And the parents of three were said to be looking forward to helping Harry and Meghan on their journey to parenthood. "William and Kate are very excited for Harry and Meghan," a source revealed to Us Weekly. "They're old pros at 'the parenting thing' and want to help them in any way they need over the months ahead."

Maybe William can also show Harry a move or two, as the Duke of Cambridge clearly has "dad dancing" down pat. William and Kate are also, of course, reportedly happy that their kids will soon have royal cousins to play with in the near future. The insider noted, "Kate is excited for Louis to have a play pal." Harry and Meghan's son is closest in age to William and Kate's youngest son, Louis.

Queen Elizabeth's only daughter, Princess Anne, was recorded sitting next to Meghan Markle at Princess Eugenie's Oct. 12 wedding at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. And, while the public didn't yet have a clue about Meghan's pregnancy at the time, many took notice of the pleasant conversation the two royals appeared to have. Now, in hindsight, it seems probable that Anne and Meghan were discussing her pregnancy.

"I didn't want to say anything at the time because I know how annoying the rumour mill is, but Meghan's conversation with Princess Anne suddenly makes a lot more sense now," royal commentator and Royal Central editor-in-chief Charlie Proctor tweeted out, following Harry and Meghan's pregnancy announcement. "Anne looking at her stomach, the hand movements etc #RoyalBaby."

Given the sweet moment Anne and Meghan shared, it'd appear that Anne was more than happy to learn of the former actress' pregnancy, despite Anne's own rumored misgivings about being an expectant mother. (As noted by People, she reportedly called pregnancy "very boring.")

While the world was sent into a tizzy following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's pregnancy announcement, Prince Andrew appeared to keep his cool. Rather than remark on the royal couple's big news and further fuel the media buzz, Andrew — Queen Elizabeth's third son and Prince Charles' younger brother — took the time to tweet out about his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. Why? Well, the day that Harry and Meghan shared their pregnancy with the world via Kensington Palace's Twitter account just so happened to be Ferguson's 59th birthday, as noted by Marie Claire.

Posting a photo of Ferguson, with whom he shares daughters Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, the Duke of York wrote in the caption, "Happy birthday to @SarahTheDuchess. Wishing you a very happy day!" Clearly Andrew knew who he wanted the media to pay attention to... and his ex-wife had similar ideas.

Princess Eugenie's mother, Sarah Ferguson, was said to be upset after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared that they were expecting with relatives at her youngest daughter's wedding. Following Harry and Meghan's big pregnancy announcement on Oct. 15 — days after Eugenie's big day — Ferguson tweeted out several times about the royal wedding, and not once did she publicly share her congratulations with Harry and Meghan.

In her first post of the day, the Duchess of York shared a photo of the dress she wore to Eugenie's wedding, thanking Emanuel Ungaro for designing the bold green number. She then posted photos of Eugenie and her now-husband, Jack Brooksbank, as they left St. George's Chapel. "So proud of Eugenie and Jack," she wrote in one tweet. "Andrew and I are proud to welcome Jack to the York family #wedding," Ferguson penned in another.

But, of course, Eugenie's wedding was likely not have been the only thing fueling Ferguson's desire to refocus the attention on her family after the royal baby news. As we said earlier, it was also her birthday. Sounds like Ferguson had a few good reasons to be peeved at Harry and Meghan's big reveal.

Princess Eugenie was reportedly not happy with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to reveal to family that they were expecting their first child right before her wedding to Jack Brooksbank. According to Radar Online (via the Mirror), Eugenie "disappeared for a while after Harry and Meghan told the Royal Family the news." She was reportedly seen "on the brink of tears," as she'd felt that her wedding had been "overshadowed" by the pregnancy announcement.

As Radar Online noted, Eugenie was already emotional after having been "attacked for spending $3 million of taxpayers' cash" on her wedding and after "hardly any" members of the public visited Windsor Castle to witness her marriage. Harry and Meghan's big news reportedly just "tipped Eugenie over the edge."

While we can't imagine that Harry and Meghan meant to steal her thunder on her big day, we understand why Eugenie may have been upset. Rather than all of her guests talking about her marriage to Brooksbank, wedding attendees may have been discussing the Duchess of Sussex's pregnancy instead. And honestly, how could anyone compete with that?

While it's interesting to learn just how members of the royal family felt after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's pregnancy announcement, the most important reactions regarding their baby are, of course, their own. We can't know exactly how Harry and Meghan first reacted after learning that they were expecting their first child, but, we do know that they've been thrilled ever since making their big public announcement.

At a function in Australia, where the royal couple traveled shortly after Princess Eugenie's wedding for their first international tour together, Prince Harry commented on his impending fatherhood, stating, "We also genuinely couldn't think of a better place to announce the upcoming baby, be it a boy or girl, so thank you very much."

Meghan also reportedly spoke out about her pregnancy, telling Australian TV's Eddie Woo at the same event, "We're ready! We're excited to join the club" (via the Daily Mail). Now that their baby boy is here, we can't wait to see how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle do as parents. We have a feeling that they're going to be naturals.