There were reports in the lead-up to the arrival of baby Archie that the Duchess of Sussex had wanted to have a home birth at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, but a new royal biography appears to refute those claims.
READ: Secrets we've learnt from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal biography
WATCH: Baby Archie makes his public debut
According to Finding Freedom, "while Meghan was originally interested in a home birth, as she entered her final trimester, she chose to deliver in a hospital." A source told authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand: "'I know there were stories about a home birth, and it was certainly something that was discussed early on, but Meg knew it would be a hospital birth for a few months.'"
The source added: "All she cared about was having the baby in the safest way possible. She was more and more nervous as she approached the due date, so I would say in some ways that it was a relief for her to be doing it in a traditional hospital."
The book adds that Meghan had "never considered giving birth at the Lindo Wing," where the Duchess of Cambridge had delivered all of her three children, and "wanted somewhere more discreet than St Mary's Hospital."
MORE: Meghan Markle's secret birth story: How Archie Harrison really came into the world
The Portland Hospital in London
Archie's place of birth was not revealed until his birth certificate became public a couple of weeks after his arrival. The document confirmed that the royal tot had been born at the Portland Hospital in London at 5.26am on 6 May 2019 – the same place where the Duchess of York gave birth to Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie in 1988 and 1990 respectively.
Finding Freedom, £13.60, Amazon
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The biography also claims that the Duke and Duchess knew they were expecting a baby boy in the lead-up to Archie's arrival and had chosen his name in Meghan's final week of pregnancy. While it was seemingly revealed by Harry himself at the time that his son had been overdue, the book reveals that Meghan's original due date was 28 April.
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