When Will Pregnant Meghan Markle Begin Her Maternity Leave?

It was QUITE the day when Kensington Palace first announced that Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were expecting their first child (opens in new tab). Not only was the big news enough to have the whole world excited about a new royal baby, but the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were also diving head first, straight into their first, extremely hectic royal tour together at the exact same time. Meghan, who’s always been a hard worker throughout her career, hasn’t let the side effects of pregnancy get in the way (opens in new tab) of her busy work schedule so far—but, at some point, the Duchess will have to take a step back from her duties and start her maternity leave.

So when exactly will pregnant Meghan disappear from the royal lineup to take it easy for a little while? She’s still attending both daytime (opens in new tab) and evening engagements as normal (opens in new tab) right now, but surely she can’t keep it up for too much longer. Well, according to Vanity Fair (opens in new tab), Meghan has other ideas.

The Duchess, despite already being a few months pregnant her first baby (opens in new tab), is reportedly keen to keep her schedule as normal as she can throughout her pregnancy, and wants to continue working right up until the latest moments. Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl claims: "Meghan has told aides she wants to work as close to her due date next spring as possible.”

Not only can we expect to see Meghan and her blossoming baby bump continue to appear at royal engagements, but it’s thought that she may even be continuing to work on major projects behind the scenes at the same time. Nicholl adds that Meghan “is expected to announce a collaboration with at least one more charity by the end of the year,” to go alongside her recent cookbook with the victims of the Grenfell disaster.

Meghan’s reported resistant approach to maternity leave is different to sister-in-law Kate Middleton (opens in new tab), who began her most recent, third maternity leave for Prince Louis around a month before giving birth, and continued for around six months after. It makes total sense, as Kate notoriously struggled with difficult pregnancies for all three of her children thanks to Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a very severe form of morning sickness. Not to mention that she also had mum duties for Prince George and Princess Charlotte to juggle alongside it all, too.

Actively choosing to keep working when you could be sat with your feet up in the palace, Meghan? Wow, can't relate. Please share that motivational work ethic with the rest of us, Duchess.

For more celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

SUBSCRIBE HERE (opens in new tab)