Duchess Meghans Maternity Leave Will Start Sooner Than You Realize

Get ready to see a lot less of Duchess Meghan. The pregnant 37-year-old’s schedule is clearing out as she and Prince Harry near the due date of their first child.

“Royal engagements will be drastically reduced and the duchess will begin maternity leave from royal duties [ahead of the birth],” Dickie Arbiter, Queen Elizabeth II’s former press secretary, says in the new issue of Us Weekly.

Duchess Meghan's Maternity Leave Will Start Sooner Than You Realize
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Toby Melville – WPA Pool/Getty Images

With motherhood on the horizon, the Duchess of Sussex is “full of energy and in good spirits,” adds a royals source. “She really feels great and is enjoying the busy work schedule she has at the moment.”

This week, that work schedule included a visit to the Association of Commonwealth Universities on Thursday, January 31, and a trip with Harry, 34, to Bristol, England, on Friday, February 1 — during which the royal couple visited the recently renovated Bristol Old Vic theatre, met with nursery school students from the area and visited a charity for at-risk youth.

Meanwhile, at their new home on Elizabeth’s Windsor estate, there’s a “race against time” to get Frogmore Cottage renovated in time for the arrival of Baby Sussex, the source tells Us. In fact, contractors are working “around the clock” to clear the way for the upcoming interior work on the cottage. For their part, Harry and Meghan are “calm” and “happy to go with the flow,” with the prince “doing everything he can do to make sure Meghan’s comfortable and happy.”

The source continues: “Harry’s being his usual amazing self around Meghan. He’s keeping an eye on her to ensure she doesn’t overwork because she’s not the best at knowing when to put the brakes on — that’ll be Harry’s job. He’ll make sure she’s not doing too much as they enter the final weeks.”

The duke and duchess, who wed in May 2018, are expecting the baby to arrive around late April.



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