Meghan Markle says 'we're ready and excited to join the club' after pregnancy announcement
The Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle was seen wearing a figure-hugging dress that showed her baby bump on October 16, just a day after she and her husband made their spectacular announcement. She went on to declare that she and the Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, cannot wait to welcome their bundle of joy by saying: "We're ready! We're excited to join the club." The royal couple have already become huge hits in Australia as they began their first international tour together that will see them visiting New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga over the next 16 days.
Meghan and Harry took the Internet by storm after they announced that they will be expecting their first child next Spring, merely hours after they landed in Sydney, Australia. The couple told the Queen and the rest of the royal family the exciting news at Princess Eugenie's wedding on October 12 before they boarded their commercial flight to Australia via Singapore this past weekend.
The Daily Mail reported that the royal couple received a massive welcome into the island country after huge crowds were spotted trying to see them and congratulate them on the big news. The royal baby will be seventh in line to the throne and he or she is due to arrive late in April 2019. The first full day of their tour came to an end in a reception in Sydney at the grand Admiralty House that overlooks the Opera House. This is also reportedly where Meghan said that she and Harry are "excited" to become parents.
Meghan was spotted wearing butterfly earrings and a gold bracelet that belonged to Harry's late mother, Princess Diana. Harry told guests at the reception: "Thank you for the incredibly warm welcome and the chance to meet so many Aussies from all walks of life. And we also genuinely couldn't think of a better place to announce the upcoming baby, be it a boy or a girl."
The royal couple went out in Sydney in what was their first day of official engagements. This happened less than 24 hours after they arrived in the country and revealed news of their baby. Meghan was pictured wearing a figure-hugging white dress by Australian designer Karen Gee that subtly showed off her small and growing baby bump.
Only minutes after the Duchess' outfit was announced to the public, the website of the brand crashed and the piece was sold out as the 'Meghan effect' gripped the island country. For the afternoon reception, Meghan wore a khaki green Brandon Maxwell dress which was very recently featured on the Spring 2019 Brandon Maxwell runway.
The royal couple was gifted tiny Ugg boots and a stuffed kangaroo with a joey in its pouch for their baby from Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove. This took place at the Admiralty House first thing in the morning on day one of their tour. Meghan called it "Our first baby gift". The Duke and Duchess ended their first day with the reception that was hosted by Sir Cosgrove and his wife Lady Cosgrove.
Harry and Meghan were the guests of honor at the afternoon event in Admiralty House. Other guests at the party included men and women from a variety of sectors in the country such as charity, local business, arts, sports, and entertainment. They were all gathered in one of the formal reception rooms at the residence for drinks and canapes.
Aside from thanking the Australian government for their support of the 2018 Invictus Games, Harry also thanked the Cosgrove's for their warm hospitality and for hosting him and his wife at their "magnificent" home. He joked: "We're inviting all of our mates in Sydney to visit."
Even though the Duke was pretty careful with his speech in not revealing the gender of the baby, he had to pause for a moment when referring to the future royal. He said: "We also genuinely couldn't think of a better place to announce the, er, upcoming... baby, whether it's a boy or a girl, so thank you very much."
The Duke of Sussex then added: "It is great to be back in Australia. And especially even more so this is my wife's first visit here, so I'm very excited to show her this incredible country of yours, perhaps not Kangaroo Flats military training area in Darwin though!" The royal couple is expected to be on tour for a total of 16 days before they return to England.