Meghan Markle Reportedly "Felt Sorry" for Kate Middleton After Her Post-Birth Photo Calls

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have announced that they won't pose for a photo call immediately following the birth of their first child. Prince William and Kate Middleton posed for these photos outside of the Lindo Wing after the births of all three of their children, something that a source said made Meghan "feel sorry" for Kate.

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  • Breaking royal traditions isn't anything new for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the birth of their child won't be an exception to their royal rule-breaking ways.
  • Unlike Prince William and Kate Middleton, Harry and Meghan have made it clear that they don't intend to pose for photos for the media immediately following the birth of their child.
  • A source close to Meghan reportedly told the New York Post that the former actress "felt sorry" for her royal sister-in-law for having to face the press so soon after giving birth. 

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are set to welcome to their first child any day now, but the arrival of Baby Sussex won't be like the royal births we're all used to, with an almost-immediate photo call outside of the Lindo Wing and a perfectly-polished Meghan smiling for cameras mere hours after giving birth. Not only is Meghan not interested in posing for those just-after-labor pictures, she reportedly feels sorry for her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, for having had to after the births of her three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

A source described as a friend of Meghan's spilled that the former actress "felt sorry" for Kate and her "forced" post-delivery photo calls in an interview with the New York Post.

In fact, Harry and Meghan have made their plans very clear, confirming in a statement that they definitely won't follow in Prince William and Kate Middleton's footsteps and pose for the media right after their baby's arrival. 

"Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private," Harry and Meghan's team confirmed in a statement. "The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family."

While the general reaction to Harry and Meghan's decision has been a combination of bummed at having to wait longer to see Baby Sussex and totally understanding of the couple's need for privacy, not everyone agrees that their approach to handling the arrival of their first child has been for the best.

"They’re basically conducting the birth in virtual secrecy. I think it’s a bit foolish,” Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor at The Sun told the Post. “Harry absolutely hates being the subject of speculation, and this just shows his petulance to the media . . . it’s just a shame.”

Of course, Harry and Meghan do plan to give their li'l Sussex an official introduction to the world—it's just expected to happen at Windsor Castle, rather than on the steps of a hospital and it will happen after a reasonable amount of time has passed since Meghan pushed a living, breathing human from her uterus. Which seems, you know, totally fair.

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.