- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry recently announced plans to keep the birth of their upcoming baby a secret.
- Markle also confirmed she will break tradition by forgoing the Lindo Wing photo-op after the birth.
- This is hardly the first time Markle has changed things up, however.
- INSIDER spoke to royal experts who explained how Markle’s fresh approach to life as a duchess could change what it means to be a member of the royal family.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
Earlier this month, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shocked royal followers by announcing their plans to keep the birth of their upcoming baby a secret until they’ve had time to “celebrate privately as a new family.”
The news meant Markle will forgo the Lindo Wing photo op, breaking a major royal baby tradition followed by Kate Middleton and Princess Diana before her.
This is hardly the first time she’s changed things up, however.
INSIDER spoke to royal experts and commentators who broke down all the ways in which Markle is changing what it means to be a member of the British royal family in 2019.
She plans to keep details surrounding the birth of her baby secret
The duchess is due to give birth to her first baby with Prince Harry any day now. However, unlike previous royal babies, the news of Harry and Markle's little one will not be announced until a few days after the birth.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace announced the couple will opt out of the Lindo Wing photo-op, which was started by Princess Diana after the birth of both Prince William and Harry, and continued on by William and Kate Middleton after the birth of all three of their children.
Instead, Markle is rumored to be having a home birth, and the couple will hold a photo-call at Windsor Castle with their newborn a few days after he or she is born.
Richard Fitzwilliams, royal commentator and former editor of "The International Who's Who," told INSIDER that since Markle's child will be seventh in line to the throne, the duchess will be afforded more privacy, unlike Kate Middleton, whose children are third, fourth, and fifth in the line of succession.
"There were reports that Kate would have preferred a home birth for Louis but felt that the occasion demanded more exposure because of her status," he explained.
"Since the new arrival is seventh in line to the throne, Harry and Meghan have the choice of more privacy and if they choose to exercise it, it would mean returning to previous royal traditions.
"Undoubtedly the waiting press will be supplied with the photographs to satisfy the vast global demand."
She could move to Africa with Prince Harry after the baby is born
According to a report in The Times, a major international job is in the works for the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex.
Discussions and plans are reportedly underway regarding a new "bespoke" role for the royal "rock stars" which could mean a move to Africa for two or three years while completing charity work across the continent.
If the claims are true, then it would be "territory the royals haven't engaged in," according to Fitzwilliams.
"Prince Charles was once keen to work in Australia, but nothing came of it. This is a different time," he explained.
"Not only are they tackling issues they care about - HIV, AIDS, female empowerment - but Africa is very much where Prince Harry's heart is.
"He visited in 1997 after Diana died. He feels most at ease there. He's close to nature, and has more privacy.
"There's no doubt about the fact that he romanced Meghan in Botswana and her engagement ring is also from there.
"It's a special place for both of them, and it's territory the royals haven't engaged in."
Markle also visited the continent before even meeting the prince.
She was a Global Ambassador for World Vision in 2016 and 2017. The former actress travelled to Rwanda with the charity for a week in 2016, where she visited unclean water sources to see first-hand how the lack of water was affecting local children's health and schooling.
However, CNN royal commentator Victoria Arbiter told INSIDER the couple is more likely to make frequent trips to one particular region than they are to leave the UK altogether.
"Harry and Meghan will not be moving anywhere in Africa," she said.
"Plans regarding their further work on behalf of the Commonwealth are still very much in the early stages and at most we may see the couple taking extended trips so as to immerse themselves fully in their work.
"One other option is for them to make frequent trips to one particular region. There are a number of logistical issues that need to be hammered out first."
She added that Harry spent almost nine weeks in Southern Africa in 2015 working on conservation projects, "so the extended stay idea is certainly a plan that could work well for them."
"They will be very conscious of their obligations across the UK and the welfare of their family will be at the core of any decision making, but there's the potential for this to be a very positive step in their future working lives," she said.
Journalist and royal biographer Katie Nicholl told INSIDER that the couple would be likely to use the trip for a "sabbatical" instead of a permanent stay in the continent.
"Africa, Botswana in particular has always been a very special place to Harry. He calls it his spiritual home and it's where he and Meghan fell in love so I think it's probably high up on the couple's wish list," she said.
"They will be going away for a sabbatical lasting months rather than a two year stay and from what I am told they are keen to explore and experience life in different countries in the Commonwealth, an area which has been earmarked for the couple by the Queen and the Prince of Wales who are, together with the couple, instrumental in these talks.
"There is a huge amount for the royals to do internationally, so an overseas sabbatical makes sense and it is something Harry has wanted to do for some time."
She added: "The time to do it is now while they are a young family and before they have the pressure of school to think about."
Markle walking down the aisle alone symbolized "a different day for the royal family"
Speaking at the Women in the World Summit earlier this month, Vogue Editor Anna Wintour gave high praise for Meghan Markle.
There was much speculation as to whether Markle's estranged father, Thomas Markle, would make an appearance at Markle and Harry's wedding ceremony, after he gave a string of revealing interviews about his daughter, and even staged photos for the paparazzi.
Read more: Here's a complete timeline of the drama surrounding Meghan Markle and Thomas Markle Sr.
Ultimately, Thomas Markle was not in attendance, and instead Meghan entered the chapel alone. She was then escorted down the aisle by Prince Charles.
"She's really bringing modernity to the royal family in a way that is inspiring," Wintour commented.
"I think the image that I have in my mind, which I think so many people from all over the world have in their mind, the Duchess of Sussex walking down the aisle by herself.
"That to me was representative of a modern woman, and then looking at her extraordinarily beautiful and proud mother in the pew, to me that symbolized that this is going to be a different day for the British royal family."
The wedding ceremony itself also marked a "turning point for the monarchy," according Nicholl.
"Complete with a gospel choir and an African American bishop, the ceremony was a departure from tradition and captured the imagination of the world," Nicholl wrote in her new book, "Harry and Meghan: Life, Loss, and Love."
"It was deemed a royal union fit for the twenty-first century and a turning point for the monarchy. Meghan was the first mixed-race divorcee to marry into the royal family, something that, decades ago, would have been unthinkable."
Markle and Harry are more affectionate towards each other than any other royal couple
Tim Rooke, royal photographer for Shutterstock, told INSIDER that the main difference between Meghan Markle and her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, are their different stances on PDA - something that also makes her stand out against all of the royals that have come before her.
Rooke, who has photographed the royals for more than 25 years, said Markle and Harry are the most affectionate couple he has photographed.
"On my recent trip to Northern Ireland with Harry and Meghan, it was hard to not notice the amount of time she spent looking lovingly into his eyes," he said.
"I've not seen this much affection between two royals in my decades of shooting.
"Compared to Kate and William, they are much more affectionate in public which could be attributed to the different pressures placed on William as the next in line to become king. We don't often see Prince William and the Duchess holding hands, but the Sussexes do it if cameras are there or not."
However, Arbiter told INSIDER that this is merely due to the couple's "affectionate nature" over anything else.
"There is no royal rule book when it comes to showing PDA," she said.
"Harry and Meghan are by nature affectionate people. Their first inclination is to offer a hug to people they meet, when it's appropriate, and we see that same affection playing out in terms of how they interact together."
Meghan made headlines after hugging a young fan during a public walkabout in New Zealand in October, despite the fact that it is against royal etiquette to do so.
Members of the public are not encouraged to touch members of the royal family. They are able to shake hands, however this is only if the royal is the one who initiates contact, according to royal etiquette expert Grant Harrold.
Arbiter added: "There is no 'one way suits all' when it comes to engagements. Harry and Meghan are always respectful to the event they are attending and that's what matters."
"While they've been the primary focus for the last year, they are not the first royal couple to show affection while on the job. They have offered us a wonderful glimpse into the loving relationship they share and it turn they've made themselves tremendously accessible."
Markle is following in Princess Diana's footsteps by creating her own brand separate from the royal family
According to Fitzwilliams, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are "using the power of brand Sussex to achieve their aim of charity work."
"They are giving it international reach," he added.
Years before she set foot in Buckingham Palace, Markle - then a TV actress on legal drama "Suits" - was an advocate for women's rights. She worked with the UN, World Vision, and many other charities to help spread awareness of gender inequality in developing countries.
Clearly, none of this has changed since she became a royal. In the past year, Markle was taken up numerous charity visits and engagements which align with the causes she has championed in the past.
During her visit to the charity One25 earlier this year, she wrote encouraging notes on bananas to women breaking free from sex work and addiction. She also spoke on a panel for International Women's Day in March.
Although being a royal has undoubtedly widened Markle's platform, she is developing brand Sussex by using her "celebrity status rather than her royal status," according to Fitzwilliams.
Before even meeting Prince Harry, Markle sustained powerful connections and forged friendships in Hollywood, from the likes of George and Amal Clooney to tennis champion Serena Williams.
Oprah, who attended Harry and Markle's wedding and stood up for Markle after she was badmouthed in the press, recently announced she would be co-producing a mental health documentary series with Prince Harry for Apple.
According to Fitzwilliams, the couple's efforts to make their brand known globally was largely inspired by Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.
"Diana is the inspiration," he said. "She was the one who got her message across to a global audience and broke the stigma surrounding HIV, AIDS, and landmines."
Similar to the controversy that ensued when Markle left the notes for sex workers, Diana also engaged in "taboo" activities that no royal had dared to do before her.
In 1987, the royal helped break the stigma surrounding people living with AIDS while visiting a man who had the disease at a London hospital.
In a photo that shook the world, Diana shook the hand of the patient without wearing gloves, challenging the common - and incorrect - belief at the time that HIV or AIDS could be transmitted by touch.
In January 1997, she went on to visit Angola, where she walked through a live minefield.
She died that same year, but just three months after, 122 governments signed up to the Ottawa Treaty in an attempt to prohibit the use, stockpiling, and production and transfer of anti-personnel mines.
Markle and Prince Harry are using Instagram to make a difference
One way Markle is developing her global brand is through the power of social media.
Markle and Prince Harry created their own Instagram account at the beginning of April in an attempt to "share the work that drives us, the causes we support, important announcements, and the opportunity to shine a light on key issues."
The duchess is no stranger to the power of Instagram.
Before meeting Prince Harry, Markle was very active online, and even ran her own lifestyle website, The Tig.
Therefore, it was no surprise to fans when the couple's new account broke a world record after amassing one million followers less than six hours after publishing their first post. The couple now have more than 5 million followers on the social media site.
It appears that they aren't taking their new online presence lightly, either.
The couple used Markle's pregnancy as an opportunity to share details of some of their favourite charities with followers, and even asked fans to consider donating to one of them instead of sending a baby gift.
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In the past, members of the royal family would have to use other mediums, such as official press releases, TV, or newspapers to get their message across to the public. Now, however, Markle and Harry are able to make a huge impact with the press of a button - and it's only going to get bigger, according to social media expert Joe Gagliese.
Gagliese, co-founder of Viral Nation, told INSIDER: "What they are doing on social is really important.
"I believe that in the future, global leaders are going to lead through social media. Currently Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have an engaged 5.1 million followers on Instagram.
"In the past, if they had wanted to do something incredible, they would have had to go through many different channels to get the word out."
Gagliese said he could even picture Markle doing an Instagram lives with her future children.
"I would like to see them doing Instagram stories, with their kids running around. But I could also see Prince Harry covering a press conference, or Meghan Markle going live at a charity event. It depends on how they want to use it."
"A turning point for the monarchy"
Nicholl summed it up perfectly when she wrote in her book that Markle and Harry's wedding ceremony was a "turning point for the monarchy."
It's difficult to pinpoint what has been most impactful - Markle's heritage, her passion for charity work, or her modern take on traditional practices.
However, in just one year, Markle has certainly paved the way for future generations to approach life as a royal with more independence and imagination than those before them could have ever imagined.
According to Fitzwilliams, "the palace is carving out a unique niche" for both Markle and Prince Harry.
"Harry and Meghan are undoubtedly doing things their way," he said.