The couple announced in March the birth of their first child will be kept private. Photo / Getty Images
COMMENT:
I really hope in the next few weeks that Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex might decide to share a photo that features her breasts.
No, not for smutty or lewd reasons! Get your mind out of the gutter.
I want to see her share an image of her breastfeeding her new baby. And I reckon there is a chance I might get my wish.
We've known for a while now that she and Harry have decided to welcome their first bub far away from the hullabaloo of London's Lindo Wing.
Whether that means giving birth at the nearby Frimley Park Hospital surrounded by the beige glory of the National Health Service or if Harry is currently blowing up an inflatable paddling pool for an at-home waterbirth, we will just have to wait and see.
However, the way that we, and everyone who does not have an HRH in front of their name, will find out when the blessed birth has actually happened is by social media, most likely via their personal account @sussexroyal.
It's not hard to take a stab at what those delectable pics will look like — there will be Meghan, Harry and tiny Lady Blayze or Earl Justice. (Okay, those names are a wild guess.) There will be smiling and cuddling and at least one close-up showing Meghan beaming down at her first kidlet. Should Ladbrokes or the TAB accept the wager, I'd put good money on some or all of these images being in black and white.
These shots will be tender and intimate and will go global the second they are released.
This means the couple has an incredible platform to start a conversation about breastfeeding. I don't mean in a dogmatic way, rabidly pushing the "HOW DARE YOU DO ANYTHING BUT BREASTFEED?" bit, but this would be an incredible moment to highlight the joys and challenges of this aspect of new motherhood.
One of the criticisms that Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge has faced is that each time she appears blow-dried to perfection and frocked up in some prim pastel number after each of her children's births is an unattainable vision of motherhood.
If Meghan did decide to showcase a more realistic and raw version of what becoming a mum is like, it would earn her serious kudos and I bet Oprah would approve.
(Also, the Windsors, as surprising as this might seem, are big on breastfeeding. The Queen breastfed all four of her children and encouraged Diana and Fergie to do the same.)
Cast you mind back to the dim, dark distant days of 2011 when Miranda Kerr announced the birth of her son Flynn with a shot of her feeding him in bed. It was incredibly beautiful and she was lauded globally for deciding to share the image.
Since Meghan joined the Windsor clan nearly a year ago, she has done her best to attain royal renegade status — the messy bun, the black nail polish, daring to cross her legs in public. (I'll give you a minute if you need to sit down to contend with all that scandal.)
As someone keenly aware of the power of her position, it would be a surprise if Meghan decided to let the opportunity these first images present to go to waste.
It was only two years ago in 2017 that she penned an impassioned essay for Time about the need to end period stigma. This is not a woman who is scared of broaching more personal or controversial subjects.
Hopefully, we won't have too long to wait until we find out what exactly she and Harry have in mind for their big announcement. In the meantime, we will just to contend with working on our Ken Done-inspired paper mache mobiles and get used to being constantly woken up by Insta alerts.
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