By Maddison Leach|
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were likely among the first royals to learn that Princess Euegenie was pregnant, according to a royal expert.
The Princess of York and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, announced to the world that they were expecting their second child together last week.
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Eugenie's mother Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was among the first royals to congratulate the happy couple on social media, but she may not have been the first to know.
"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex would have been amongst the first to hear the news of Eugenie's pregnancy," royal expert Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, told The Mirror.
"Meghan and Harry are close with Eugenie—and not only has she stayed with them in California, but they have been on holidays together before Harry's marriage."
Despite ongoing claims of a 'royal rift' between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and senior members of the royal family, the couple have maintained a close relationship with the princess and Jack.
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Meghan and Eugenie were both pregnant in 2021, Eugenie with her first child, son August, and Meghan with her second, daughter Lilibet.
Meanwhile, Harry and his cousin have been close for years and the Sussexes have invited Eugenie and Jack to visit them in the US multiple times since their 2020 royal exit.
No other senior members of the royal family have been to see the couple in their new California home, as far as the public is aware.
Now that Eugenie is expecting again, Seward says the Sussexes have even more reason to return to the UK this year for King Charles' historic coronation.
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"If the Sussexes come to the Coronation in May, there will be an added incentive to see Eugenie as, by then, it is doubtful if she will want to travel herself," she said.
However, there's no guarantee that the Sussexes will return to London to see Harry's father crowned as king in four months' time.
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Royal relations were already 'strained', according to palace insiders, and the release of the Harry & Meghan Netflix series and Harry's memoir Spare did little to improve them.
The King also appears to be planning for a 'slimmed down' monarchy in the near future, with reports going back decades claiming that he hoped to remove less important royals from the public spotlight.
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Just this week reports emerged that the King had ordered disgraced Prince Andrew to clear out of Buckingham Palace, which is undergoing renovations, and is not likely to invite him back.
A source told The Sun: "The King has made it clear that Buckingham Palace is no place for Prince Andrew."
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