Royal baby: Meghan Markle goes into labour
The Duchess of Sussex has gone into labour
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Your support makes all the difference.The Duchess of Sussex has gone into labour with her first child, Buckingham Palace has announced.
The palace announced that the duchess went into labour in the early hours of the morning. The Duke of Sussex was by her side.
Royal commentator Omid Scobie tells The Independent that there were "cheers" across the town of Windsor as the news broke that the duchess is in labour.
"Given the past tense used to describe Meghan being in labour this morning, we are expecting an announcement from the palace about the birth imminently," Scobie adds.
"This is exactly how the couple wanted to share such a special moment with the world. Although we are likely to receive news of the birth today, we won’t be seeing Baby Sussex until later this week."
The baby will be seventh in line to the throne and Queen Elizabeth II’s eighth great-grandchild.
The birth will be announced with an email to the press and a celebratory tweet posted on the royal family's Twitter feed.
The baby’s arrival will also be announced via a typewritten, framed bulletin placed on an easel in the forecourt of Buckingham Palace.
The bulletin is commonly brought out of the Privy Purse door after it is driven to the palace by car from the hospital, and signed by the medical team which attends the royal birth.
It will include details as to the baby’s sex, time of birth, as well as a status confirming the health of the mother and child.
Breaking from royal tradition, the couple will not pose for photographs with their newborn following the birth, according to an announcement from Buckingham Palace earlier this month.
“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,” read a section of the statement.
Earlier this month, the palace announced it had launched a verified Instagram account, under the handle @sussexroyal, which went onto break the record for the fastest time to gain one million followers on Instagram.
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