Meghan Markle’s pregnancy announcement came exactly 37 years after British newspapers announced that Princess Diana was expecting Prince Harry.
The Duke and Duchess said they were “overjoyed to be expecting their second child” in an announcement on Valentine’s Day – the same day Lady Di’s pregnancy hit the front pages in British newspapers in 1984.
“Secret behind that smile … a baby!” said the front page of the Daily Mail, with a photo of a grinning Diana.
The Daily Express similarly said the “smile that says it all”.
“September baby for princess,” the Telegraph reported at the time, adding that “the queen says she’s delighted.”
Diana’s pregnancy announcement was actually made late the day before – with the time lag allowing The Post to cover the UK newspapers and get the story published on the front page on February 13 of that year.
“Mama’s the word for Princess Di – again,” New York’s favorite newspaper headlined the announcement.
The Sun, who also celebrated the pregnancy on the front page – although she said Diana wanted a girl – suggested on Monday that the Sussexes may have deliberately chosen the date as a ‘secret nod’ to Harry’s mother, who died in a car accident in New York. August 1997.
Baby Sussex comes eighth in line to the throne – behind big brother Archie, who turns two in May, and their 36-year-old father Harry, who is sixth in line to the throne, according to The Telegraph.
The news comes a few months after Markle spoke of her “almost excruciating grief” after she miscarried in July.