Meghan Markle May Be on Maternity Leave Already

Meghan Markle has always been known as particularly hardworking, and she's been hustling even more since becoming pregnant. Royal experts have been speculating that she wants to get as much as she can done before her maternity leave. But now, she may officially be taking it easy now: She has no more official royal engagements scheduled. 

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(Image credit: Getty Images)

Listen. All the British royals work hard. The Queen completed 283 royal engagements in 2018 ALONE. But Meghan Markle has always been known as particularly hardworking, and she's been hustling even more since becoming pregnant. Royal experts have been speculating that she wants to get as much as she can done before her maternity leave, particularly with those four official patronages she received in January. But now, according to Vanity Fair, she may officially be taking it easy now: She has no more official royal engagements scheduled. 

Buckingham Palace didn't confirm this, of course (they rarely make comments like that unless it's an official announcement, like the arrival of the baby), but they did say that Meghan "did not currently have any more official engagements scheduled, but will attend several private meetings."

I haven't heard anything else about Meghan's second baby shower, so if it's happened already it was kept majorly top secret. If it hasn't happened, she has at least one more engagement to look forward to before she's really, truly done—and maybe that's one of the "private" engagements she still has left on her schedule. Meghan's New York shower was an opportunity for her to interact with friends, and she looked like she had an absolute blast, so chances are the second shower will be similar.

A couple days ago, Meghan attended the 2019 Commonwealth Day service, in typically impressive high heels that she made look effortless. This might be the last official sighting we have of her.

Commonwealth Day 2019

(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo)

I have to say: I expected Meghan Markle to be on leave loooooong before this day, so I am IMPRESSED. If reports are accurate, and she's due in late April, she's absolutely deserved the chance to sit back and actually take a break. Of course, I say this, and she will probably come out tomorrow in more fabulous four-inch heels, hustling along like it's no big thing.

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Katherine J. Igoe
Contributor

Katherine’s a Boston-based contributor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle—from “Clueless” to Everlane to news about Lizzo. She’s been a freelancer for 11 years and has had roles with Cosmopolitan and Bustle, with bylines in Parents, Seventeen, and elsewhere. It’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.