Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘will both take some proper time off,’ after the birth of their daughter in the summer, a source has claimed.
For the Duke of Sussex, 36, who is currently living in his $14 million mansion in California, this would mean taking time out from his first job in the corporate world where he recently took an executive position at a Silicon Valley start-up that claims to be worth $1.7billion.
The royal is ‘chief impact officer’ at mental health services business BetterUp, where he helps promote an app used by corporate giants including Hilton, Facebook and oil firm Chevron to improve the wellbeing of their staff.
The company’s chief executive Alexi Robichaux has declined to say how much the royal is being paid, although similar roles at other California firms would command six or seven-figure salaries.
Prince Harry’s paternity leave would also mean temporarily stepping back from his multi-million-pound deals with Netflix and Spotify – which he told Oprah Winfrey he was persuaded to sign when he was ‘literally cut off financially’ from the Royal Family.
‘It will be the summer and they want to make sure they both take their leave so they have some real quality time together once the baby arrives,’ a source close to the couple told Vanity Fair’s Katie Nicholl.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ‘will both take some proper time off,’ after the birth of their daughter in the summer, a source has claimed. Pictured, with son Archie
The married couple revealed during their bombshell Oprah interview (pictured) that their second child is a girl and is due to be born this summer
During the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, the Duke of Sussex told how he stopped receiving income from Buckingham Palace shortly after he and Meghan announced their wish to step back as senior royals and spend time overseas.
Harry added that he would have been unable to pay for security to protect his family if it were not for money left to him by his mother Princess Diana in her will.
The couple raised eyebrows when they announced in September a deal worth an estimated £75million to make programmes for Netflix – despite citing lack of privacy as a reason for quitting the Royal Family.
In December, the couple announced a lucrative deal with audio streaming giant Spotify.
The deal, estimated to be worth around £18million, will see Harry and Meghan make podcasts for Spotify’s 320million monthly users to help listeners ‘connect to one another without distraction.’
Asked about the money-spinning partnerships, Harry told Miss Winfrey they were ‘never part of the plan’ but were suggested by a ‘friend’ when they feared financial issues.
He insisted: ‘My family literally cut me off financially and I had to afford security for us.
‘But I’ve got what my mum left me and, without that, we would not have been able to do this.’ He added of the issues he has faced: ‘I think she saw it coming.’
Prince Harry’s paternity leave was cut short when Archie was born on 6 May 2019, because just three days after the birth the royal flew to the Netherlands to launch next year’s Invictus Games.
There, the royal was showered with presents meant for his infant son, donned a special ‘I am daddy’ jacket during a bike ride, and was given a baby grow by Princess Margriet, before being met with laughter from the crowd after modelling it against his own body.
Meanwhile, throughout her pregnancy and after the birth, Meghan, 39, was busy editing an issue of British Vogue and designing a capsule collection for Smart Works.
It comes after an insider claimed Meghan Markle is planning to give birth to her second child with Prince Harry in the comfort of their stunning $14.7m Santa Barbara property in Montecito, California.
Speaking about Meghan’s home birthing plans, a source told Page Six: ‘She has a beautiful home in California, it’s a beautiful setting to give birth to her baby girl.’
If born in America, Meghan and Prince Harry’s baby will be entitled to US citizenship as an automatic right, and will have dual UK citizenship through her father. She will also be able to run for US presidency if born on US soil.
The source also said that Meghan initially planned to have a home birth for Archie, now 22 months old, but was unable to do so because her son was a week overdue.
Instead of welcoming her first child with an all-female midwife team at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, the mother was taken to London’s private Portland hospital, where she gave birth to Archie on May 6, 2019.
The source explained: ‘Meghan’s plan was to have a home birth with Archie, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans.’
MailOnline contacted the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s representatives for comment.
The couple revealed during their bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview earlier this month that their second child is a girl and is due to be born this summer.
The Duchess of Sussex is due to welcome her second child with the Duke of Sussex in the summer, and it is thought she hopes to have a home birth at their stunning $14.7m Santa Barbara property in Montecito, California (pictured)
Prince Harry joined his wife for the second half of the much-anticipated interview on CBS to reveal the news, excitedly telling the chat show host: ‘It’s a girl.’
He said his first thought was ‘amazing’ when he learned they were having a girl, adding: ‘Just grateful. To have any child, any one or any two, would have been amazing.
‘But to have a boy and then a girl, I mean what more can you ask for? Now we’ve got our family, we got the four of us and our two dogs.’
While the couple made no hint of what their daughter’s name would be, fans began speculating that they will call her Diana, after Harry’s late mother.
Asked if they were ‘done’ with two children, Harry said ‘done’ and Meghan said: ‘Two is it.’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex released this picture on Valentine’s Day as they announced that they are expecting a second child, saying they were ‘overjoyed’ at their pregnancy
The girl will not be entitled, at this stage, to be an HRH nor a princess title due to rules set out more than 100 years ago by George V – but this is the same as what would have happened before they stepped back from senior duties.
The baby is entitled to be a Lady, but Harry and Meghan will again opt to style their second-born a plain Miss, with the surname Mountbatten-Windsor.
Harry and Meghan first announced on Valentine’s Day that they are expecting a second child, saying they were ‘overjoyed’ at the pregnancy.
Their news echoed Princess Diana’s announcement of her own second child – Prince Harry – which was printed in newspapers on Valentine’s Day in 1984.
A spokesman for the couple said at the time: ‘We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child.’
The announcement came soon after Meghan suffered a heartbreaking miscarriage last year.
After the pregnancy announcement, Bookies quickly started taking odds on what the name of Archie’s sibling could be, with Diana coming in first position before Alexandra, Florence, Arabella and Elizabeth.
Bookmakers Ladbrokes said at the time that the chances of Harry and Meghan naming their girl Diana were four to one.
The new Sussex baby will become eighth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William, William’s three children George, Charlotte and Louis, Prince Harry and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
Prince Harry retained his place in the line of succession despite his decision to quit royal life.
Prince Harry, Meghan and Archie left Britain for Canada in November 2019 before moving to America, meaning Archie has not seen any of his British relatives since he was six months old.’