Meghan Markle Reportedly Wants a Three-Month Maternity Leave

According to the Sun, Meghan Markle is reportedly planning to take a three-month maternity leave—traditional to American standards—because she wants to get back to work focusing on charities and other causes she supports.

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Meghan Markle officially went on maternity leave in mid-March, and since then everyone (me) has been glued to their phones, waiting for the sure-to-be-adorable Baby Sussex. Now, we have a bit more insight into when we might see Meghan again after she delivers: According to the Sun, Meghan Markle is reportedly planning to take a three-month maternity leave—traditional to American standards—because, like the total hardworking badass that she is, she wants to get back to work focusing on charities and other causes she supports.

According to a royal source, "Meghan has made it very clear she wants to return to work as soon as possible. She has huge amounts of energy, is extremely determined and wants to be as hands-on as possible with her charities.

"She's penciled in three months, but she'll most likely return to public life in six weeks—on the Queen's official birthday, Trooping the Colour, in June.

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"Three months' maternity is standard in the U.S. for American mums—they don't normally get the six or even 12 months women get here in the U.K. So this is totally normal for Meghan."

Intriguingly, this will be just after President Trump's state visit to the U.K. earlier that week. Reportedly, Harry will also be taking paternity leave, but it's unclear as yet how long that'll be.

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Just for the sake of normalization, Kate has apparently taken between five weeks (George) and six months (Louis) for her own maternity leave, so, truly, it sounds like there is no "standard," even for one person's separate experiences. Whatever's healthiest for each individual person, I say.

Reportedly, since arriving last week, Meghan's mom Doria has been staying with the couple in advance of the big day (if it hasn't already happened—some fans think that Meghan's already given birth and we're going to get an announcement any second now). (Also, can you imagine how stealthy they must have been to keep that a secret from everyone??)

The whole family is "focused on family life" right now, reportedly, which is so sweet. A source told the Daily Mail, "Of course they're making plans for the future, and they're very excited about the options, but right now they have just moved into a beautiful new home and are focused on family life." This is probably in reference to the news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may take on a secondment, spending four months out of the year in a country in Africa. Clearly, there's a bit of time before any of that happens.

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Katherine J. Igoe
Katherine J. Igoe
Contributing Editor

Katherine’s a contributing syndications editor at Marie Claire who covers fashion, culture, and lifestyle. In her role, she writes stories that are syndicated by MSN and other outlets. She’s been a full-time freelancer for over a decade and has had roles with Cosmopolitan (where she covered lifestyle, culture, and fashion SEO content) and Bustle (where she was their movies and culture writer). She has bylines in New York Times, Parents, InStyle, Refinery29, and elsewhere. Her work has also been syndicated by ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, and Women’s Health, among others. In addition to her stories reaching millions of readers, content she's written and edited has qualified for a Bell Ringer Award and received a Communicator Award. 

Katherine has a BA in English and art history from the University of Notre Dame and an MA in art business from the Sotheby's Institute of Art (with a focus on marketing/communications). She covers a wide breadth of topics: she's written about how to find the very best petite jeans, how sustainable travel has found its footing on Instagram, and what it's like to be a professional advice-giver in the modern world. Her personal essays have run the gamut from learning to dress as a queer woman to navigating food allergies as a mom. She also has deep knowledge of SEO/EATT, affiliate revenue, commerce, and social media; she regularly edits the work of other writers. She speaks at writing-related events and podcasts about freelancing and journalism, mentors students and other new writers, and consults on coursework. Currently, Katherine lives in Boston with her husband and two kids, and you can follow her on Instagram. If you're wondering about her last name, it’s “I go to dinner,” not “Her huge ego,” but she responds to both.