Why Harry and Meghan Revealed Pregnancy at Eugenie’s Wedding — No, It Wasn’t to Steal the Spotlight
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shared their baby news during Eugenie’s big day, but Harry later explained, the timing wasn’t about upstaging anyone.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's announcement of their first pregnancy couldn’t have been more awkwardly timed. The couple shared the news privately with family members during Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank in October 2018, a move that was dubbed selfish as it stole the spotlight from the bride and the groom. But as Harry later revealed, that wasn’t the case at all.
In his memoir Spare, the Duke of Sussex peeled back the curtain on the decision that sparked so much tabloid chatter. Eugenie’s wedding came just months after his own, and by all accounts, Harry and Markle were thrilled to celebrate her happiness and to share a little of their own. “Euge was getting married to Jack, and we were deliriously happy for them and for ourselves, selfishly, since Jack was one of our favorite people,” Harry wrote in Spare.
The timing was definitely not to make a statement, according to Harry. The couple were set to depart for their first official overseas tour as a married couple, which meant they could not see the royal family for a while. “We delayed the departure several days, so we could be at the wedding,” Harry recalled. “Also, the various gatherings connected to the wedding would give us a chance to pull aside family members one by one and tell them our good news.”
That’s exactly what they did. The couple first told King Charles during the reception at Windsor Castle. “He was delighted to learn that he was going to be a grandfather for a fourth time,” Harry wrote. “His wide smile warmed me.” Later, in St. George’s Hall, the couple discreetly pulled aside Prince William to share the same. “We whispered the news, and Willy smiled and said, ‘We must tell Kate,’” Harry penned.
Kate Middleton, who was chatting with her sister Pippa across the room, reportedly greeted the news with “a big smile and hearty congratulations.” But the optics of the timing quickly became tabloid fodder once the Palace made the pregnancy news public three days later, on October 15, 2018, conveniently, just as the Sussexes were about to kick off their royal tour of Australia.
While Sarah Ferguson never directly voiced her frustration, she reportedly was furious with the Sussexes. As Kensington Palace announced Harry and Markle’s pregnancy, the Duchess of York posted a string of tweets celebrating Eugenie and Brooksbank’s wedding, a move The Express described as a not-so-subtle response to the Sussexes. According to insiders, Fergie felt that the couple had 'stolen the limelight' on what was meant to be her daughter’s big day, and the flurry of wedding photos was her way of reclaiming the moment.
