--- title: Why Meghan Markle's Birth Plan Isn't So Surprising description: Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex had a different approach from Diana and Kate when it came to her royal baby. That's not so surprising. canonical: https://time.com/5566675/meghan-markle-frimley-hospital/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-04-11T15:51:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T00:01:52.000Z og:title: Why Meghan Markle's Birth Plans Aren't So Surprising for a Royal og:description: How different is this royal baby exactly og:url: https://time.com/5566675/meghan-markle-frimley-hospital/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7574eae88d474129/69894818656a3f944abd6ece/prince-harry-meghan-markle-frimley-hospital-choice.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Which Hospital Will Meghan Markle Birth the Royal Baby? og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Meghan Markle's Birth Plans Aren't So Surprising for a Royal twitter:description: How different is this royal baby exactly twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7574eae88d474129/69894818656a3f944abd6ece/prince-harry-meghan-markle-frimley-hospital-choice.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Meghan Markle Approached Her Birth Plan Differently Than Princess Diana and Kate Middleton. Here's Why Her Decision Isn't So Surprising by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:01 AM UTCPublished: Apr 11, 2019 3:51 PM UTC  Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day Youth Event at Canada House on March 11, 2019 in London, England. The event will showcased and celebrated the diverse community of young Canadians living in London and around the UK. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage) Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day Youth Event at Canada House on March 11, 2019 in London, England. The event will showcased and celebrated the diverse community of young Canadians living in London and around the UK. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage)Samir Hussein&mdashWireImage/Getty Images by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Updated: Dec 13, 2023 12:01 AM UTCPublished: Apr 11, 2019 3:51 PM UTC Though Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gave birth early Monday morning, they opted not to tell the public all the details of the royal baby’s birth right away. Kensington Palace has previously announced that [Meghan Markle](http://time.com/5568479/meghan-markle-private-birth-plan/) and Harry, the Duke of Sussex, would keep the birth plans private. Now that the baby is born, royal fans still don’t know for certain where the family chose for the birth. But [Prince Harry](http://time.com/5554184/prince-harry-paternity-leave/) was interviewed by Sky News on Monday afternoon local time in Windsor, just hours after his wife gave birth at 5:26 a.m., according to a [royal press release](https://www.royal.uk/duchess-sussex-has-been-delivered-son-0). That’s not where most royal babies have been born, but it’s where the Sussex home, Frogmore Cottage, is. Let’s step back and look at the history. Princess Anne, Princess Diana and Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, all had their royal babies at the Lindo Wing in Paddington, which is a close drive from Kensington Palace. But Katie Nicholl, _Vanity Fair_ royal correspondent and the author of[ _Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love_](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1602865280/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time037-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1602865280&linkId=e2a3694bc0e74f5acb0f4d397565f51c)_,_ told TIME in a previous interview that it was likely the couple would choose a home birth for the royal baby. However, it’s also been widely reported that the Duchess of Sussex would choose Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, which is much closer in proximity to the couple’s new home. Frimley wouldn’t be so surprising, according to Victoria Arbiter, a royal expert and commentator for CNN. When Princess Diana and Kate Middleton had their children in the Lindo Wing, they were only a short drive away. “Harry and Meghan are now in Windsor, and for anyone about to have their first baby, I would think they would want to have the shortest drive possible,” Arbiter says. “So it actually makes sense for a number of reasons.” It wouldn’t even be a break from tradition either: At least four royal babies have already been born outside of Lindo in recent years. Two royal babies have been born at Frimley, and Sarah Ferguson gave birth to Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie at the Portland Hospital for Women and Children in London. Sophie, the Countess of Wessex — who is married to Queen Elizabeth’s youngest son, Prince Edward — [gave birth at Frimley Park Hospital](https://www.royal.uk/countess-wessex-gives-birth-baby-girl) in 2003\. Her daughter Louise was born one month prematurely, and the royal family was grateful to the staff at Frimley for making sure the Countess had a healthy and safe birth. For [her second child, James](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk%5Fnews/7148830.stm), in 2007, the royals went [back to Frimley](https://www.royal.uk/countess-wessex-has-given-birth-baby-boy).  Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex with their new baby boy at Frimley Park Hospital on December 20, 2007 in Frimley, England. Ben Stansall—Getty Images Sophie returned to the hospital in 2014 and showed how much the staff and their work meant to her. “The service you provide is paramount and can literally make the difference between life and death, I can attest to that,” Sophie told members of Frimley’s staff during the visit, [the _Telegraph_ reported](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/theroyalfamily/10706449/Countess-of-Wessex-breaks-down-as-she-meets-midwives-who-saved-her-life.html). Clearly, the hospital is “equipped with dealing with royal births,” Nicholl told TIME in an email. Though some royal mothers have often chosen the same hospitals, Arbiter says, “it’s not really about tradition. It’s more about personal choice and which hospital best suits your particular birth plan.” And, if Meghan chooses to have a home birth at Frogmore, that would actually adhere to royal tradition rather than break it. “Royal women for centuries had their babies at home,” Arbiter says.  A comparison between Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge carrying her newborn son on April 23, 2018, and Diana, Princess of Wales carrying her newborn son Prince Harry (R), on September 17, 1984, both leaving the Lindo Wing of St Mary's hospital. Anwar Hussein—WireImage Since the birth game-plan is to be kept private, as the palace said, we also can’t expect a post-birth public photograph of both Meghan and the baby after she welcomes her new child. Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge both took the same picture outside Lindo Wing, so Arbiter says some people may be disappointed and miss that with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are planning to meet the press with their baby for the first time in two days, Harry told Sky News on Monday. But one thing the public is going to have to get used to, Arbiter says, is giving the couple some privacy with their new baby. “Harry and Meghan are very keen to maintain the privacy of their child and also to sort of set the boundaries on what is acceptable and what’s not,” she says. “And we have to respect any new mother’s choices in that regard.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5566675/meghan-markle-frimley-hospital/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5566675/meghan-markle-frimley-hospital/"},"headline":"Meghan Markle Approached Her Birth Plan Differently Than Princess Diana and Kate Middleton. 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