Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Have an Unexpected Birth Plan in the Works For Baby No. 2

For their second child together, Harry and Meghan are reportedly planning on having a home birth at their Montecito, California property, Page Six reports. This would be the first home birth for the Duke and Duchess, who welcomed their first child, Archie, at a London hospital in 2019.

Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, revealed that they are expecting a baby girl in the summer of 2021 during their Oprah interview on March 7. Their daughter will be the first royal baby to ever be born in the United States, and according to Page Six, her birth may be breaking convention in yet another way as her parents plan for a home birth. This isn’t, however, the first time a royal baby has been born at home. Just week’s before Page Six’s report,  Zara Tindall—the daughter of Princess Anne and the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth II—revealed that she gave birth to her third child with Mike Tindall on the floor of her bathroom!

According to a source who spoke to Page Six on Tuesday, March 30, Meghan previously planned for a home birth for her son, Archie. “Meghan’s plan was to have a home birth with Archie, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans,” the insider explained. “In the end, her doctors advised her to go to hospital and all she was interested in was about delivering Archie safely.” Meghan was reportedly a week overdue on May 6, 2019, when she was taken to London’s private Portland hospital to give birth to her son alongside Harry.

For her first pregnancy, Meghan also considered natural birthing techniques such as “hypnobirthing,” sources told Vanity Fair at the time. “Her mother is very into anything that is holistic and natural, and having been brought up with yoga and mindfulness, it’s all very much part of Meghan’s birth plan,” one source told the site. Meghan had also reportedly hired a doula and used acupuncture in preparation for Archie’s birth.

This time around, Page Six’s source says Meghan and Harry want to welcome their baby girl right at home at their Montecito estate. “She has a beautiful home in California, it’s a beautiful setting to give birth to her baby girl,” an insider told the site.