Meghan Markle Pregnant: 5 Facts About The New Royal Baby To Be

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are officially going to be parents! Kensington Palace confirmed the happy news and has even revealed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's expected due date to be sometime this upcoming spring.

So what exactly will be the title for the upcoming royal baby? Is Meghan Markle's child going to automatically be a prince or princess like older cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte?

With fans already hedging bets on gender and possible first name choices, here are five fast facts to know about the future royal baby:

1. Will The New Royal Baby Be A Prince Or Princess?

No. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby will not automatically be considered a prince or princess. In 1917, Prince George V passed a Letters Patent to block all of the Queen's great-grandchildren from receiving a designated HRH ("His/Her Royal Highness") title. This patent did, however, come with exception of the "eldest living son of the eldest Prince of Wales" — aka, Prince George, son of William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge.

2. Will The New Royal Baby Be In Line For The Throne?

Yes. Seventh in line, to be exact. Meghan Markle's baby automatically bumps Prince Andrew, the Queen's second son, into eighth place, but trails behind cousins Prince George and Princess Charlotte. Thankfully, the gender of the unborn royalty will not come into play after U.K. Parliament passed a law back in 2013 to determine that line of succession is based off of sibling age and not gender.

Full Line of Royal Succession

1. Prince Charles
2. Prince William
3. Prince George
4. Princess Charlotte
5. Prince Louis
6. Prince Harry
7. Unborn child of Duke and Duchess of Sussex
8. Prince Andrew
9. Princess Beatrice
10. Princess Eugenie

3. Will The New Royal Baby Have A Title?

Yes. As mentioned earlier, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's baby will not automatically be given the title of a prince or princess. With that said, one person does have the power to grant the unborn youngster with an HRH title; the Queen. As we've seen with Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the Queen can override the 1917 patent. However, it is unlikely she will do the same in this case as the new royal baby is far down in line.

Markle's future child is also not qualified to be granted with a Duke or Duchess title either. So what exactly is going to be the new royal baby's title? Well, if it's a boy then he will get the secondary Sussex title, Earl of Dumbarton and any future male siblings to come after will be given the name of Lord Windsor, while any daughters will be given the name of Lady Mountbatten-Windsor.

4. What Kind Of Citizenship Will The New Royal Baby Have?

British. Due to Prince Harry being the father, the new royal will be born with only a British citizenship. Fans have speculated that the baby will be born also as a citizen of the United States, but that is not the case. While Meghan Markle can legally qualify to apply the baby for U.S. citizenship once born, many fear that doing so would be a controversial move since baby is royalty by blood.

5. How Far Along Is Meghan Markle With Her Pregnancy?

Three months, give or take. The Duchess of Sussex recently attended the wedding of Princess Eugenie, above, with new reports suggesting Markle's pregnancy to be well past the 12-week mark. It is said that while the expecting couple did reveal the news to the entire family during the nuptials, Markle did not want to upstage Princess Eugenie's big day. Pregnancy rumors didn't begin making headlines until after the happy couple touched down in Sydney, Australia, shortly after, this past weekend. Markle was seen holding a giant purple binder over her body further fueling speculation, but many quickly jumped in to say it was her itinerary for the trip. Hours later, Kensington Palace released the official statement confirming the news on Oct. 15, 2018.

Lead photo credit: Shutterstock