Just over a month ago, Vanity Fair had an exclusive story about how the Duchess of Sussex wasn’t interested in copying the Duchess of Cambridge’s whole baby-birthing vibe. Kate has given birth to all of the Cambridge children at the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London. For every child, Kate has stood outside the hospital with William and new baby and done the whole “presenting the new royal child” thing for the cameras. It’s actually one of the best pieces of theater for the royal family, and Kate’s really good at it. Well, Vanity Fair said that Meghan is considering some home birthing options, and if Meghan does give birth in a hospital, it wouldn’t be the Lindo Wing. Now the Daily Mail is saying the same thing:
She is quitting London — reportedly to avoid living next door to her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge — and now the Duchess of Sussex is making plans to give birth at a different hospital from Kate. While Prince William’s wife had all three of her children in the private Lindo Wing at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, West London, Meghan Markle could have a Home Counties baby.
I hear plans are being made for Prince Harry’s first child, which is due in the spring, to be born in Surrey, at Frimley Park Hospital, where the Prince’s aunt, the Countess of Wessex, had her two children. A source tells me: ‘If their Royal Highnesses have moved to Frogmore Cottage before the birth, as planned, Frimley Park may be a more easily accessible option than St Mary’s.’
Harry and Meghan’s new Windsor Estate home, which is undergoing refurbishment, is 15 miles from Frimley Park, while St Mary’s is 23 miles away and would involve a journey through congested Central London. A Frimley Park birth would no doubt delight Prince Edward’s wife, Sophie, who sang its praises after she had Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn there.
[From The Daily Mail]
People Magazine is saying the same thing now too, which makes me think that someone in the Kensington Palace communications office did a low-key briefing to members of the media about Meghan and Harry’s general birthing plans. I do think the DM and People are right, just as I thought Vanity Fair was right a month ago – Meghan seems wary of even the appearance of “copying” Kate in any way. It’s a double-edged sword though – if Meghan took pains to use the same hospital for “tradition,” then they’d say she was a horrible diva who copied Kate at every turn. If she went to a different hospital, they’d say she was a horrible diva who has a gauche, American independent streak, and what, St. Mary’s isn’t good enough for her? Meanwhile, I think this decision really is just about logistics, and Harry and Meghan wanting to nest at Frogmore, and wanting the closest hospital.
Photos courtesy of WENN, Backgrid and Avalon Red.
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