Prince Harry and Meghan Markle add to their family at Kensington Palace - with a Labrador

Meghan is said to have had a soft spot for animals since she was a child and rescued Guy and Bogart (pictured) from a dog rescue centre in Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images

By the Daily Mail's Richard Eden

I bring news of a new arrival at Nottingham Cottage, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's love nest at Kensington Palace.

Not a baby — that can wait — but a four-legged creature. I hear that Harry and Meghan have acquired a labrador. "The dog is already happily ensconced at their cottage," reveals my man with the monogrammed pooper-scooper, said the Daily Mail.

"Like the Sussexes, the dog will divide its time between the palace and their country home in the Cotswolds."

A Kensington Palace spokesman declines to comment on the new addition to the Royal Household, so we don't yet know its name or colour.

But let's hope that it provides an adequate replacement for Bogart, the labrador-Shepherd mix that Meghan left behind in Toronto when she moved in with Harry.

She deemed Bogart too old to make the journey from Canada and he's reportedly now being looked after by friends. As well as Bogart, the former actress has a second rescue dog, a beagle called Guy, who was flown over last November.

Guy — who has his own Union flag coat and eats only organic food — is said to have settled in well and can be seen being taken for walks in the palace grounds when its owners are in London. Before Meghan moved to this country, she regularly shared pictures of Bogart and Guy, describing them as "my loves".

It's not known if their new pooch is another rescue dog, but Harry's stepmother, the Duchess of Cornwall, could certainly have helped them acquire one as she is Royal Patron of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home.

Meghan is said to have had a soft spot for animals since she was a child and rescued Guy and Bogart from a dog rescue centre in Los Angeles while she was with her first husband, film producer Trevor Engelson.

He let her take the dogs with her to Canada when she won a role in the hit legal drama Suits and she would take them for long walks in the snowbound local park, returning to cook herself supper.

Two years later, she dumped Engelson, but kept the dogs.