Harry and Meghan Are Expecting, Baby Due Spring 2019

[Such Fun]

Originally Posted by JuliannaVictoria

Yes, they are.

I really didn't know that they were waiting for George for 6 weeks, so this is nothing for them. Some of them have only been in Windsor for 2 weeks, but there is a lot of press and not just American.

They were waiting 3 weeks. The Cambridges had said only that the baby was due in July, and so the media set up outside the Lindo Wing at the first of the month.

[Such Fun]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

You are absolutely wrong on the feeling of the people on the street. An vast majority supports them on this decision according to the latest YouGov poll. Some are miffed, but that’s a small minority at 13%. But other than that, the press will not be happy with just a photo released. They are as upset as it is. They aren’t telling people they have news and then refuse to sharing it. They are sharing it. There is very little difference to the Cambridge children than the fact that they won’t share the specific birthing plans like the location. The exact time this baby will come is beyond their control. They’ll notified the press once she goes into labor. If they want to wait in Windsor right now, that’s between them and their bosses. They’re very clear on what they will and will not share. There is no false illusion here.

As for low key, this is about as low key as they can get. The fact of the matter is there are a lot of interest in this couple globally. Perhaps more so than almost any other royal couple right now. And the birth of their child is of interest to people, so the media will report on it. And as working royals, they walk a fine line between keeping something for themselves and wanting to thank the people for the love and support. And I think the way they are going about it is a great compromise.

Well said.

[loonytick]

Originally Posted by Such Fun

They were waiting 3 weeks. The Cambridges had said only that the baby was due in July, and so the media set up outside the Lindo Wing at the first of the month.

But IIRC, there were more hysteric folks who said an early July due date could mean a late June birth of baby comes early, so let’s be on alert mid June...the Great Kate Wait was a pretty impatient and grumbly time, too. Funny how time makes forget the fiddle and uncomfortable parts and let’s us think whatever’s happening now is the most/the worst handling/an utter PR disaster.

Fact is the royal press always gets antsy and weird while they’re waiting for a royal baby. There’s really no perfect scenario of the ultimate bulletproof press release or timeline for an event that’s primarily private and out of everyone’s control. When a segment of the press corps is essentially just sitting in one place, nothing to report because baby is taking its time—yet urged by their bosses to write something, anything—some of them will let their imaginations run wild and others will get all huffy and complain. That’s just a given.

[DuchessMia]

If folks (individuals and news organizations) are anxious and huffy (much better term) that’s on them. I live in the States and check my phone in the morning to see if she’s in labor. If not, I go on about my day. No sense twisting myself into knots over a labor I’m not involved in. The baby will come when he/she is ready.

[ACO]

I remember the madness over George. Also Charlotte was late too and that cause a bit of silliness as well. None of this is a new concept with Baby Sussex. The only difference is the location.

[poppy7]

We have no idea if any of the Cambridge children were late...because we just don't know anothing as it should be. They weren't this crazy about it. With George perhaps a bit, I can't remember much but I think I remember a bit of a wait for Charlotte but no one actually know when she was due.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by poppy7

We have no idea if any of the Cambridge children were late[/B]...because we just don't know anothing as it should be. They weren't this crazy about it. With George perhaps a bit, I can't remember much but I think I remember a bit of a wait for Charlotte but no one actually know when she was due.

We know for sure that George was late as William himself said so and also that Charlotte was late as it was officially announced that Catherine's due date for their second child was in April (see BBC) (as was the case for Louis: see Kensington Palace).

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by poppy7

We have no idea if any of the Cambridge children were late...because we just don't know anothing as it should be. They weren't this crazy about it. With George perhaps a bit, I can't remember much but I think I remember a bit of a wait for Charlotte but no one actually know when she was due.

No one knew exactly when George or Charlotte were due. And no one know when Meghan’s baby is due other than an off the cuff comment Meghan made when she was asked by someone on a walk about. She’s still well within that time. What’s the problem? Knowing the hospital or not makes little difference at this point.

People wait for royal babies. That’s on them, not her.

[ACO]

Originally Posted by poppy7

We have no idea if any of the Cambridge children were late...because we just don't know anothing as it should be. They weren't this crazy about it. With George perhaps a bit, I can't remember much but I think I remember a bit of a wait for Charlotte but no one actually know when she was due.

There was very much madness with Charlotte toward the end as it was clear she was "overdue" a tad. I very specifically remember they all thinking she was an April baby. Most notably the parking restrictions only going until the end of April and the dash to extend them when April came and went.

https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalt...d-until-may-5/

A bit of déjà vu?

I would say Louis was more low key overall. His due date was pretty accurate so it went as it was expected to do. This wait is typical and wait they are used to. We are on the baby's schedule. The conspiracies are silly.

[poppy7]

Originally Posted by loonytick

By most people, do you mean the people you hang out with? Anecdotal evidence based on one’s own social group is rarely an accurate indicator of...anything.

Well naturally all the other ones are full proof. A canvassing company who haven't predicted any recent election result accurately or what people see written in papers or actually listening to people joking about 'oh course the baby is here, the Queen visited, Kate, William, Charles, what are they doing looking at the decor. And you know Chris Evans said so and he lives there and I end quote.

Yes and I think that press release was so badly worded that it gave the media permission to just go nuts. It was badly timed, written and executed.

All this will end with, hopefully, a picture of the happy baby and everyone will coo and be delighted and then Meghan will say something in the interview, if there is one, and certain members of the media will start again at infinitum. She is just too American for some sections of the media. They just should release a picture or two and be done with it. Everyone will love it and not further ammunition for attack.

Originally Posted by ACO

There was very much madness with Charlotte toward the end as it was clear she was "overdue" a tad. I very specifically remember they all thinking she was an April baby. Most notably the parking restrictions only going until the end of April and the dash to extend them when April came and went.

https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalt...d-until-may-5/

A bit of déjà vu?

I would say Louis was more low key overall. His due date was pretty accurate so it went as it was expected to do. This wait is typical and wait they are used to. We are on the baby's schedule. The conspiracies are silly.

That is Hello's whole reason for existence. The Royal families photo book. They predicted Kate and William's engagement every week for two years and then the first child for about a year after that. A stopped watch is right twice a day. And I like Hello. But you know...

[akina21]

Originally Posted by Such Fun

They were waiting 3 weeks. The Cambridges had said only that the baby was due in July, and so the media set up outside the Lindo Wing at the first of the month.

the media also invented a due date (July 11th) which every other media outlet copied and they then convinced themselves that this was a decoy and how she could be due on Diana's birthday and that combined with the hot summer weather resulted in Royal Baby Wait derangement syndrome. And of course Kate was late for them the moment it was July 12th.

[Jacknch]

Please note that a number of posts have been edited or deleted in response to a post that was deleted earlier today. We need to move on from the back and forth discussion concerning the Media treatment of members of the Royal Family - so lets stay on topic.

[ACO]

Originally Posted by poppy7

That is Hello's whole reason for existence. The Royal families photo book. They predicted Kate and William's engagement every week for two years and then the first child for about a year after that. A stopped watch is right twice a day. And I like Hello. But you know...

I linked their article but it has nothing to do with HELLO! It was the narrative at the time. I could link many articles saying the same thing. The point was this happened then. It is happening now. Kate gave a vague "I am due around mid to late April" similar to Meghan's "late April to early May" comment. The press set up early. The baby went beyond the expected date. The media got silly.

The end.

[Denville]

Originally Posted by ACO

There was very much madness with Charlotte toward the end as it was clear she was "overdue" a tad. I very specifically remember they all thinking she was an April baby. Most notably the parking restrictions only going until the end of April and the dash to extend them when April came and went.

https://www.hellomagazine.com/royalt...d-until-may-5/

A bit of déjà vu?

I would say Louis was more low key overall. His due date was pretty accurate so it went as it was expected to do. This wait is typical and wait they are used to. We are on the baby's schedule. The conspiracies are silly.

I think with Louis people just weren't that interested. he was the third child. There was a boy and a girl. He arrived, there was a notice and I suppose Kate showed him off.. and that was it.

[hel]

I realize it's very popular right now to be very down on the press, but I think the thing that everyone is missing right now in the whole "the media is going CCCRRRAAAZZZZYYYY!" and "Why are they in Windsor, anyway" narrative is this: if your boss told you that you had to go to a meeting that was going to be boring for the first 3/4 and you didn't particularly want to go to, you'd still darn well go. Well, same with the sussexstandby.

Every reporter in Windsor right now is there because the person signing their paycheck told them to get their butts to Windsor. Meghan and Harry's baby is *the* royal story right now, and they don't have the choice to not cover it, or be late covering it. Unless you're a rebel, who routinely tells your boss to pound sand, I don't think any of us is in a position to criticize the reporters for being where they need to be to do their jobs.

I watched the Royal Rota piece from Windsor, and I'm not seeing how anyone's "salty" or "grumpy" (other than Rob Jobson, who seems to be more of a commentator than a reporter).

I also think it's worth noting that it's more the commentators in the media (your Moirs, Morgans, etc) as well as the "we just repackage what other people are writing for the online version" low level scuts who're moaning about the decision to not do Lindo; it's not the royal beat reporters. And that makes sense, since the commentators and online reporters have a single job: manufacture outrage. The beat reporters, by and large, seem to express the sentiment that it's Meghan's right to choose how she wants to present the baby to the world.

[MaiaMia_53]

Originally Posted by Jacknch

The wording of that announcement was ambiguous and at odds with subsequent announcements.

If there is to be confirmation as and when Meghan goes into labour, there may as well be confirmation as and when she has given birth. Or just make an announcement only when the birth has occurred.

I think it acceptable that we wait a few days until we actually see the new baby so that they have a few days to themselves, but I don't think it acceptable not to announce the birth when it actually happens.

Seriously? Why do you think it's not acceptable to not announce the birth when it actually happens? What do you mean anyway? What difference does it make about how announcements are worded in the first place? All plans are likely in flux at a time like this, when events are so unpredictable. The logistics and scheduling surrounding the Netherlands trip is an example. IMO, there's way too much energy being given to how the Sussexes are trying to protect their privacy and preserve these special moments for themselves and their immediate family and friends.

The birth hasn't happened yet, so how do you know when or how it's going to be announced or not announced? And exactly why does it matter that much anyway? As far as what has been reported, there is supposed to be an announcement when Meghan goes into labor. But probably not the exact moment when she goes into labor, which makes sense. Sometime after the baby's birth, an announcement will be made regarding the baby's gender, weight, etc, and probably the time of birth. Usually a written announcement is posted at the gates of BP, as I believe has happened previously. Obviously, we won't find out the baby's name right away because it's normal for any couple to take time to make that decision.

I really do not get the obsessing over how the Sussexes choose to handle the birth of their first child, who we are continually reminded, will only be 7th in line to the British throne and therefore should be able to lead a relatively normal life out of the camera's glare, like the Wessex children, and like the Snowden offspring during a different era. I especially don't get the negative tone of so much complaining and whining by the media, who mostly refused to treat Meghan with respect throughout her entire pregnancy.

The prolonged time that it's seeming to be taking for the baby to be born is clearly causing a lot of observers for some reason to become unreasonably agitated over nothing. The question is why? Meghan is from all reports calm, and peaceful (e.g., Scobie's reports on his Twitter and on Royal Rota's recent episode). Scobie's exact words used to describe Meghan's state of mind: "Sources say she is comfortable and content. She's got this."

Neither Meghan nor Harry are going to allow the excessive interest and attention to destroy their lives or to affect the decisions they make surrounding their own baby. All of this nonsense and 'hysteria' is only going to sadly cause them to be even more protective of their family and their privacy. I'm upset at how people are acting because at this rate, we may never get to see another picture of Guy, much less any pictures of their new dog, whose name has not yet been revealed. If the media and obsessed people on all sides would lay off, I believe that Meghan and Harry would be slightly more willing to share some of their private happiness with the public.

[ladongas]

Originally Posted by Such Fun

They were waiting 3 weeks. The Cambridges had said only that the baby was due in July, and so the media set up outside the Lindo Wing at the first of the month.

Are the laboring women, the sick grandpas, the kids who are rushed to the ER...
and who don’t have to make their way through crowds of reporters and royal fans who are stationed outside of Lindo or any other hospital.

Well done, M & H.

[MaiaMia_53]

Originally Posted by poppy7

Nobody is saying she should. Heaven forbid but why do an interview and photos shoot like a celebrity. Just take a picture of your baby and realise it. That is all anyone else wants, a picture of a healthy baby. Because some people may be entitled but most just care for Prince Harry and want this to go well for them. But media wise this has not gone well for them. And I just do think William and Kate seem to handle the media better while keeping them on side. And this is from someone who thinks William is at times to media trained.

IMO, very little of this is about anyone exactly caring about Prince Harry. There is obviously a lot of interest in the Sussexes around the world. Photos of the baby mean money for a lot of news outlets. Meghan and Harry are rightly deciding to limit that kind of access and frenzy. And see my further comments below to your earlier post.

Originally Posted by poppy7

The more I think about it the more I am beginning to think this is a public relations disaster. Harry is r famous, he is beyond famous and this birth is being treated, by them, like a celebrity birth. Why on earth do a photo shoot and I interview after the birth. Like a hello photocall. She doesn't have to stand on a step, in six inch heels but it strikes me that if anything they are making their babies birth less private by this hoopla. Kate had to stand on a step and that was is it and then family taken picture was realised a couple of weeks later and then what 4 pictures over the first year of life. Harry and Meghan just don't seem to k ow what they are playing with at the moment. And to be honest I think she, and her friends, needs to realise this is a world she doesn't understand. I would rather stand on a step for 3 minutes with a swaddled baby then do a photo shoot with it soon after birth. Alternatively I would much rather realise a section of family taken photos.

Harry & Meghan aren't doing anything but minding their own business. It's been reported on Royal Rota and other media outlets that the Sussexes preference was to not even hold a photo-call, but to simply provide a photo a few days after the birth, likely on Instagram. Roya Nikkah said on a prior ITV Royal Rota broadcast that Harry & Meghan had to be convinced by a media liaison staffer to go along with a limited media photo-call at Windsor Castle.

I see a number of reporters (except for Omid Scobie) criticizing the Sussexes every step of the way, no matter what they decide. If they'd done the usual hospital steps appearance, they'd likely have been accused of seeking the limelight, acting like celebrities, blocking hospital entrances, and endangering their baby. Let's also keep in mind that ever since the Sussexes returned from their South Pacific trip, Meghan has been daily criticized and analyzed in the British papers for all manner of imagined offenses. There was no let up throughout the course of her pregnancy, which has never happened to a pregnant royal lady before to this degree and intensity.

The fact that Meghan is chillin' at home out of camera views with her mother, while Harry is on part-time royal duty still attending public functions, satisfies no one apparently. It's the public and the royal reporters who are interested in every aspect of this royal couple's lives. It's not the Sussexes who are seeking attention.

[Heavs]

With the Lindo Wing photos all you really get is a fraction of squashy newborn skin, rarely the whole face, (though in the case of Baby Sussex I guess there are people interested in how much melanin the baby has) so I don't think the big photocall hours after birth are necessary to see pictures of a healthy baby. It's more for the press and public to see the parents and a blanket. Not to mention a lot of money for all media outlets covering it. Where it adds more interest is when there are older siblings visiting in play.

If they'd done everything the Cambridge way we'd still have loads of complaints just different ones. The press is bored because there's nothing to report. Yes it's easy to pick holes because it's different than the last few royal births but it's not a move that will wreck the Sussexes' PR, popularity or Royal Duties. It will be forgotten when the baby arrives in favour of complaining about the name or something and if they choose to do the same for a baby 2 then it will be old hat by then.

[MaiaMia_53]

Originally Posted by poppy7

All they have to do is realise a statement saying baby boy or girl born three o'clock. Everyone well. Here is a picture and everyone will literally be over the moon. That is all really.

I am not sure about the London Eye to be honest. I don't think any of them will light up. I think the distinction between Princess Margaret and the Queens children is a good example here. As the Queens aid they are not royal they just have me as an aunt. I think all the evidence points to a revised situation where only future monarchs children will be HRH. What that means for the workload with a reduced workforce if anyone's guess.

I've seen a video report saying that there will be lights acknowledging the baby's birth. But I don't see the big deal whether there will be lights or not. It doesn't really make any difference one way or the other. It's enough that the parents and the essential grandparents' and great-grandparents' faces will be lit up with joy when they set eyes upon this first born Sussex baby, when the time arrives.

A statement will be released, obviously. When it will be released and how it will be phrased shouldn't be a topic of such concern and over-analysis, IMO. They don't have to immediately release a photo of their newborn baby.