Royals Who Hid Their Baby Bump

The world loves a royal baby. The public become very invested in these little noble tykes — what they'll be named, what they'll look like, and what their childhood will be like as they prepare for their inevitable influence on the world as an adult. But before a royal baby comes a royal pregnancy announcement, and before the announcement comes the mother's efforts to hide her pregnancy from the world until it's public knowledge. It's a thankless task. 

Royal mothers get very little credit for how well they hide their baby bumps from the world, despite their pregnancies almost always going unnoticed by the public before their formal announcement. But choosing concealing outfits and living life in the public eye while keeping a major secret is no small feat, and the women who've done it deserve a lot of credit. All of these royal mothers managed to hide their baby bumps without anyone even noticing.

Times have certainly changed. While it's unlikely a woman will be the reigning British monarch for decades, the next woman to lead won't have to go to the lengths Queen Elizabeth II did to hide her pregnancy. Elizabeth gave birth to four children — King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward — two of whom she birthed after becoming queen. But even before her ascension, Elizabeth kept her pregnancies very private, using certain styles to conceal her baby bump. In June 1948, during a visit to the International Wool Secretariat Exhibition in London, Elizabeth wore a peplum blazer over a flowy, pleated dress to eclipse her baby bump of four months.

Elizabeth kept her pregnancies private for multiple reasons. At the time, pregnancies were not celebrated like they are now. Pregnancy was taboo, and it was against royal protocol for a woman in the monarchy to be seen in public while pregnant. Elizabeth reportedly didn't even like using the word "pregnant" and instead said "in the family way." Eventually, Elizabeth completely abstained from making any public appearances. When she became pregnant with Charles, the palace shared a vague announcement that didn't explicitly confirm she was pregnant. "Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth will undertake no public engagements after the end of June," a 1948 announcement read in The New York Times, as reported by Harper's Bazaar.

While it was considered indecent for Queen Elizabeth II to be seen while pregnant, it was international news when her progeny procreated. Though a positive change for the monarchy, being more open with pregnancies has posed somewhat of a challenge for the royal family as the women have had to become more adept at hiding their pregnancies before making a formal announcement. When Meghan Markle was pregnant with her first child, Prince Archie, she kept her baby bump hidden in plain sight. 

Less than a month before making a formal announcement, the duchess visited an art exhibit in September 2018 wearing a black dress and a carefully placed belt around her waist, while also strategically holding her clutch bag close to her stomach. Two weeks before the announcement, she wore a monochromatic blouse and skirt ensemble that bunched at the waist. Both looks cleverly added some bulk around Meghan's baby bump in an effort to conceal it.

In 2021, when Meghan Markle was pregnant with her second child, Princess Lilibet, she and Prince Harry had already stepped down from their positions as senior royals. Meghan also became pregnant during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both of these circumstances made it much easier to keep her pregnancy a secret. "We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother," a spokesperson for Harry and Meghan told People. "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child."

In September 2024, it was announced that Princess Sofia of Sweden was pregnant again. "Their Royal Highnesses Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia are delighted to announce that The Princess is expecting their fourth child," the Swedish Royal Court announced. "Princess Sofia is feeling well, and the birth is expected to take place in February 2025. During the autumn, no changes in the public schedule of Princess Sofia are planned." This came as somewhat of a shock to the public, mostly because, just days prior, Sofia was photographed at a wedding in Norway with no indication to suggest she was expecting. The royal wore a stunning orange ensemble and used a skirt with an empire waist and a thick band paired with a loose-fitting top to pull off the ruse.

Given it was her fourth pregnancy, Princess Sofia was quite accustomed to having to hide a baby bump. Before announcing her first pregnancy in October 2015, Sofia chose her outfits carefully, opting for looser-fitting yet structured pieces to quell any suspicion.

Princess Beatrice is another royal woman who has had to conceal her burgeoning baby bump. In October 2024, the royal family announced on Instagram that Beatrice was pregnant for a second time. "Her Royal Highness Princess Beatrice and Mr Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi are very pleased to announce that they are expecting their second child together in early spring; a sibling for Wolfie and Sienna," the announcement read. Princess Beatrice, who's undergone a major style transformation in recent years, used some clever fashion tricks to keep her news a secret. 

While doing some charity work less than a month before the announcement, Beatrice wore a structured black jacket over a flowing polka dot dress to hide her baby bump. During other public engagements that month, the princess wore layered outfits, heavy coats, and dresses with concealing belts around her waist.

Princess Beatrice's first pregnancy was during the COVID-19 pandemic, which made hiding her baby bump easy as there weren't many events to attend. About a month before sharing her news in May 2021, though, Beatrice attended a memorial service for her grandfather Prince Philip, and kept her baby bump hidden with a button-up coat and a belt.

Of all the modern royals, Princess Catherine has to be the most strategic about her appearance. Catherine is always subject to intense scrutiny, and even the smallest change is noticed, which is why the theory about her pre-pregnancy announcement strategy makes sense. 

According to journalist Kate Proctor, Catherine is in the habit of cutting her hair just before announcing her pregnancies. It appears that the duchess changed up the look of her locks at the beginning of all three of her pregnancies, seemingly in order to distract onlookers from taking a closer peek at her midriff. If it is in fact Catherine's preferred method of concealing a baby bump, it's quite smart, especially considering that Catherine is known for wearing form-fitting pieces, especially around her upper body.

It doesn't seem that Catherine has placed the burden of hiding her baby bump entirely on her hair as the duchess has seemingly been deliberate with her style choices, too. Just days before announcing her third pregnancy in September 2017, Catherine was spotted with Prince William and Prince Harry at the White Garden at Kensington Palace to honor Princess Diana. Catherine donned a loose-fitting dress with some stretch at the waist to cover any hint of a bump. In the weeks leading up to her first pregnancy announcement in December 2012, Catherine attended events at which she kept a clutch bag carefully placed in front of her stomach. Of course, Princess Catherine went on to have stunning pregnancy style with all three of her children. 

Historically, women who've married the heir to a throne have had one job: to get pregnant. While it may seem like we've evolved as a society, royal women have still faced the pressure of getting pregnant in modern times, namely Princess Charlene of Monaco. For a few years after marrying Prince Albert in 2011, Charlene was on baby watch, facing particular criticism from the media for not having become pregnant yet. Charlene even addressed children in a 2013 interview. "We had a big wedding. It was a big adjustment after that," Charlene told the Sunday World, as reported by Hello! "Now I'm settled and I think kids will come. I don't put any pressure on myself. If it happens, it happens."

Charlene was right not to pressure herself, as the following year in May 2014, she and Albert announced that they were expecting their first child together — which turned out to be twins. Despite their excitement over the news, the Monégasque royals didn't announce Charlene's pregnancy immediately, and she attended multiple events at which she was tasked with concealing her bump. Charlene relied on a couple of old styling tricks to keep her pregnancy a secret early on. The princess wore darker tones to a couple of events, perhaps hoping for a slimming effect, and also relied on the help of some structured pieces. A few weeks before her pregnancy announcement, Charlene welcomed Montenegro's president to Monaco wearing a white asymmetrical hem dress adorned with diagonal seams across the body, perfectly distracting from any belly bulge.

Princess Diana wrote the book on hiding a royal baby bump. By the time she became a mother, the royal family had become much more accepting of a woman in the monarchy being seen in public while pregnant. However, this also meant that the royal family had to be strategic about when to announce family pregnancies, and Diana had to be calculated about what she wore ahead of the announcements. 

The palace announced that Diana was pregnant with her second child — who the world would come to know as Prince Harry — on February 13, 1984. In the days leading up to the announcement, Diana was seen multiple times wearing heavy pieces of clothing and holding a clutch purse, which she often, likely deliberately, placed in front of her then-tiny baby bump. More than one royal has taken early pregnancy style cues from Diana.

Diana set the tone for royals in more ways than one. Eleven years after giving birth to Harry, Diana sat down for her infamous "Panorama" interview, and opened up about experiencing postpartum depression. "Then I was unwell with post-natal depression, which no one ever discusses, post-natal depression, you have to read about it afterwards, and that in itself was a bit of a difficult time. You'd wake up in the morning feeling you didn't want to get out of bed, you felt misunderstood, and just very, very low in yourself," Diana shared. Her vulnerability paved the way for her own sons to open up about their mental health as adults, as well as Meghan Markle.