Why Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Baby Will Make Royal History
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s baby will be making royal history!
The couple’s child will fall behind Harry in the line of succession to the throne, meaning he or she will be seventh. The baby will also be one of the first ever heirs of mixed race in the British royal family. (Queen Charlotte in the 1800s was believed to be of mixed race and went on to have 15 children.)
Tessy Ojo, the chief executive of the Diana Award who was a guest at Harry and Meghan’s May wedding, tells PEOPLE having a person of mixed race in the line of succession is “exciting.”
“It is so beautiful at every level,” she says. “It is has so many stories to it. And it all continues from the wedding. We all can’t wait to see what the baby will be and what the baby will look like, what this beautiful gorgeous bundle will look like.”
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Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, is Black, while her dad Thomas Markle is white.
“While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that,” Meghan wrote for Elle in 2015. “To say who I am, to share where I’m from, to voice my pride in being a strong, confident mixed-race woman. That when asked to choose my ethnicity in a questionnaire as in my seventh grade class, or these days to check ‘Other,’ I simply say: ‘Sorry, world, this is not Lost and I am not one of The Others. I am enough exactly as I am.’ “
Dr. Sarah E. Gaither, an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University who also runs the Duke Identity and Diversity Lab, previously told PEOPLE that Meghan’s marriage into the royal family made her a cultural icon.
“The U.K. has one of the fastest-growing mixed-race populations in the world,” she said. “To the biracial community, she’s really serving as a symbol of this changing demographic that Britain is facing in addition to the United States.”
Announcing the baby news on Monday, Kensington Palace said in a statement, “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019. Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public.”
Harry’s brother and his wife are “delighted” for the couple, the palace says.
WATCH: What Royal Title Will Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Baby Inherit?
Harry and Meghan’s royal baby will join several little cousins around the palace. Will and Kate are the proud parents of Prince George, 5, Princess Charlotte, 3, and 6-month-old Prince Louis.
Queen Elizabeth, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, have also expressed their joy over the news. Senior members of the royal family who were in attendance at Princess Eugenie’s royal wedding on Friday were able to congratulate the couple in person.
