Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are expecting their second child

While many celebrity couples spent Valentine’s Day professing their love for each other with adorable social media posts, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle won the day with their viral photo, which made a very important announcement: they are expecting their second child.

On February 14 the couple announced their happy news with a black-and-white photograph taken remotely on an iPad by their friend and photographer Misan Harriman. In the photo the pair is in a garden, where Meghan is laying her head in Harry’s lap and looking up and him, while he gazes down at her, barefoot. Meghan’s hands are resting lightly on her growing baby bump.

“Meg, I was there at your wedding to witness this love story begin, and my friend, I am honoured to capture it grow,” wrote Harriman. “Congratulations to The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on this joyous news!”

Later, a rep for the couple confirmed they are indeed expecting. “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,” reps told several publications. (Archie will be 2 years old on May 6.)

According to People, the photo has hidden meaning, since Markle is wearing the same Carolina Herrera dress that she first had made when she was pregnant with Archie. But what truly makes the announcement extra special is its connection to Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana. Back in 1984 she too picked Valentine’s Day to announce that she was expecting her second child, which of course ended up being Harry. William was 20 months old at the time.

Meghan and Harry didn’t offer any further details, like a due date or whether they’re expecting a boy or a girl. But as fans already know, thanks to Meghan opening up last year about motherhood, that this is a rainbow baby for the couple. Last November the mom revealed in a heartbreaking essay for the New York Times that she and Harry had suffered a miscarriage in July 2020. "Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few," she wrote at the time.  

Meghan and Harry married in May 2019 in a royal ceremony that was watched by millions around the globe. However, they have spent the past year or so figuring out their new lives in Montecito, Calif., where they landed after stepping down from their roles as senior royals in early 2020. Insiders have since claimed that the couple’s desire to have a more normal family life away from the pressures of the rabid paparazzi and press was a large reason why they quit their gigs. Meanwhile, it was just last week that Meghan won her privacy and copyright infringement case against the Associated Newspapers after the Mail on Sunday published five articles in February 2019 that contained parts of a handwritten letter she had sent her dad, Thomas Markle.

Even though they may no longer be working together in an official capacity, the family over at Buckingham Palace is reportedly happy about the upcoming new addition too. “Her Majesty, Duke of Edinburgh, Prince of Wales and entire family are ‘delighted’ and wish them well,” a palace spokesperson said in a statement after news broke.

Since ending their official duties Meghan and Harry have been keeping busy with charity work, they signed a massive TV deal, and they launched a special holiday podcast last December under their new agreement with Spotify to produce exclusive audio content with them over the next few years. Here’s hoping for more details through at least one of those venues soon, but in the meantime, congratulations to the happy couple and their soon-to-be family of four.

Before you go: Meghan Markle wins her high court privacy claim against British tabloid

[video_embed id='2138441']Before you go: Meghan Markle wins her high court privacy claim against British tabloid[/video_embed]