Secrets, scoops & royal SCANDALS Inside the ruthless world of palace gossip
Nobody knew where or even when Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was going to give birth. As her rumored late-April due date inched closer, the British press was crazed trying to gain insight. Every day, new stories appeared: Meghan would copy her sister-in-law, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and opt for the fancy Lindo Wing, claimed one tabloid, referring to the private arm of St Mary’s Hospital in London where countless royal babies have been born (including Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry). No, swore another, she’s chosen a hospital in Surrey where Harry’s aunt gave birth. Actually, trumpeted a third, the baby will be born at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and it’s not only a home birth but a water birth. In reality, the only thing anyone knew for sure was that nobody knew anything, which, it seems, was just how Meghan and Harry wanted it.
For royal correspondents, whose livelihoods depend on reporting every intimate detail of the British Royal Family’s existence, the dearth of information was torturous, especially when compared with Kate’s three meticulously coordinated deliveries, during which the Cambridges’ communications team sent out regular updates. By contrast, the only detail Harry and Meghan were willing to confirm was that, unlike Kate and William, they wouldn’t hold a photo call on the day of the birth.
As April blossomed into May, reporters were getting impatient; their son, Archie, was born. Making matters worse, the email didn’t arrive in reporters’ inboxes until after 2pm, almost an hour after it was apparently sent. The delay was blamed on “technical difficulties”, but it didn’t go unnoticed that the memo’s arrival neatly coincided with the morning talk shows in New York City, which is five hours behind the UK. Meanwhile, British reporters scrambled to make deadlines, with one network failing to get the news into its lunchtime show.
