Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, are expecting a second child, a sibling to their son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, 1.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the news via an official representative, who said: "We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child."
Archie will turn 2 in May this year; the new addition to the family will be eighth in line to the British throne.
Tribute to Princess Diana
The announcement was made on Valentine's Day, which has been interpreted by many as a tribute to Prince Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana.
On February 14, 1984, it was announced that she was expecting a second baby, who would be born Harry. Thirty-seven years later, the couple have honoured Harry's parents with a Valentine's Day announcement of their own.
In February 1984, a Telegraph cover reported Queen Elizabeth II as being "delighted".
Yesterday, a Buckingham Palace representative echoed the response and said: "Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and the entire family are delighted and wish them well."
The informal Misan Harriman photo
Accompanying the announcement was a black-and-white photo, shot by Misan Harriman, who is a friend of the couple's.
The image shows the couple sat outside with Harry's hand placed under Meghan's head as she lies on his lap with her hand resting on her bump. They are in the garden of their Montecito home.
However, British photographer Harriman did not fly over to Southern California mid-pandemic.
On his Twitter, Harriman said that it was a remote shoot, which was shot via iPad. Typically, in remote shoots undertaken by professional photographers, the subject sets up their iPad, then the photographer provides lighting and posing direction by video call. The image is then taken using a programme on the photographer's device.
Posting on social media, Harriman captioned it with a message almost as relaxed and informal as the image itself: "Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow. Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!"
In the photo, Meghan is thought to be wearing a Carolina Herrera dress, which she wore during her pregnancy with Archie.
Comparisons to 'Notting Hill'
The image has been compared to the scene at the end of Notting Hill, which shows Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts' characters sitting outside, with Grant's William Thacker sat up and a pregnant Anna Scott (Roberts) lying down.
The Richard Curtis film is, famously, about a Hollywood actress and normal Englishman who fall in love. Of course, as a royal, Prince Harry is not quite a "normal" Englishman, but the in last year, since stepping down as senior royals, the couple has made clear their pursuit of normality.
The moments leading up the final shot of Anna and William show a young red-headed white boy is chasing a little curly haired black girl in the park. Likely a coincidence, but that too has drawn comparisons to young versions of Harry and Meghan.
When will be baby be born?
After Princess Diana and Prince Charles made their Valentine's Day baby announcement, Prince Harry was born seven months later on September 15, 1984.
It is unlikely Harry and Meghan will have made their pregnancy announcement quite as early. With Archie, they announced their baby news on October 15, 2018, six and a half months before he was born on May 6, 2019.
It is likely that the baby is expected to be born in August this year.
Happiness following sadness of 2020 miscarriage
The announcement comes three months after it Meghan revealed she had a miscarriage months earlier in July.
Writing of her "unbearable grief" in The New York Times, Meghan described how she "felt a short, sharp cramp" on a July morning while she was caring for her son Archie.
"I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second," she wrote. "Hours later, I lay in a hospital bed, holding my husband's hand. I felt the clamminess of his palm and kissed his knuckles, wet from both our tears. Staring at the cold white walls, my eyes glazed over. I tried to imagine how we'd heal."
It was considered to be an extraordinarily personal disclosure coming from a high-profile British royal.
In 2019, Harry told primatologist Jane Goodall in that the couple only planned to have two children for the sake of the planet.
Goodall said: “Not too many,” and Harry replied: “Two, maximum.”
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Company Profile:
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Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
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Size, number of employees: 12
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Manchester United v Club America
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
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Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Need to know
When: October 17 until November 10
Cost: Entry is free but some events require prior registration
Where: Various locations including National Theatre (Abu Dhabi), Abu Dhabi Cultural Center, Zayed University Promenade, Beach Rotana (Abu Dhabi), Vox Cinemas at Yas Mall, Sharjah Youth Center
What: The Korea Festival will feature art exhibitions, a B-boy dance show, a mini K-pop concert, traditional dance and music performances, food tastings, a beauty seminar, and more.
For more information: www.koreafestivaluae.com
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah