Royal baby: 'Excited' Americans weigh in with name suggestions for Meghan Markle after pregnancy announcement
Kensington Palace announced the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will have their first child sometime in “Spring 2019” and royal fever across the pond appears to have reignited with names like "Diana" and "Edward" being suggested for the couple's first child.
“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019,” the palace said in a statement.
The Independent spoke with New Yorkers about the news with many "excited about the new announcement"..
One gentleman at the Union Square outdoor market said: “I love royalty.”
“It’s exciting. Babies are exciting,” his friend said, who noted her family is in the UK and welcomed the news as well.
“I hope they name it Di!” after the late Princess Diana the gentleman noted, adding “that would be sweet”.
If it is a boy, both agreed any name would be lovely but “not Charles”.
One woman said Americans fascination has to do with “the American and the British coming together and now they’re having a baby, it’s a big deal”.
She said she thinks it will be a girl, but her friend said she hoped it would be a little boy.
“A classic name, something like Catherine,” is what she wanted for a girl, but the other woman thought a baby boy will be named “Harry Jr” after his father.
Several others out and about on a rainy morning were a bit ambivalent about the news, but one woman carting around her own toddler said she thinks interest will peak when the duchess begins to debut her pregnancy fashion choices.
The announcement was made public as the couple touched down in Australia on their second international tour, including Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand, after being married in April.
A couple from Australia in New York on holiday were split in their reaction. The woman wished the royal couple congratulations and said she did not think it would happen "so soon" after the wedding, but her husband said he did not "really care" about the news, but did weigh in with a gender guess.
Several others wished them a hearty "congratulations" and also suggested "Diana" and a "fancy name...like Edward" for the new baby. Others agreed on "Harry Jr".
Prince Harry is there to participate in the opening and closing ceremonies of the Invictus Games, an international Paralympics type of event for injured military veterans which began in 2014 in London.
Celebrities in the US have also weighed in on the royal news.
Television show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted: "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are gonna have a baby! That’s wonderful."
She added: "I can’t wait to find out what’s in the suitcase," a reference to the former actress-turned-duchess' brief role on the US game show "Deal or No Deal" in which she carried a suitcase with a mystery item alongside several other models.
Doria Ragland, the royal family’s first American and African-American grandmother, said she was “very happy about this lovely news”.
It is thought the duchess is approximately 12 weeks along and due in spring 2019. The new baby will join cousins Princes George and Louis and Princess Charlotte, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
