Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Welcome New Baby Boy

By Anna Tingley

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle welcomed their first child Monday. The Duchess and Duke of Sussex are now parents to a baby boy, according to their official Instagram. The new addition to the royal family will be seventh in line to the throne.

In line with royal tradition, the couple, who married in Windsor last May, did not announce the sex of their baby until its birth, a decision that Prince William and Kate Middleton also made with their three children. Since Markle’s pregnancy announcement last October, bookmakers have placed bets in a wide variety of categories in relation to the royal baby, including name and gender predictions. Royal-watchers tried to glean information from such events as the baby shower hosted by Serena Williams in New York, which some viewers noted had “girly” decorations.

However, the palace kept a tight hold on news surrounding Markle’s pregnancy in recent weeks as the due date approached. Last month, she and – who are known officially as the duchess and duke of Sussex – issued a statement thanking well-wishers “for the goodwill they have received from people throughout the United Kingdom and around the world,” but saying they had “taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private.”

There had been speculation that the birth took place over Easter weekend, April 20-21. Rumors that the birth had already happened were fueled by reports that the baby’s great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, dropped in to visit Markle and Prince Harry at their newly renovated home, Frogmore Cottage, near Windsor Castle.

With the birth comes some changes to the royal family tree, bumping Harry’s uncle, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, to eighth in line to the throne and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to ninth and 10th place.  With three cousins, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who are all further up in the line of succession, the new baby most likely won’t become a monarch.

Just in time to welcome their first child, the duke and duchess also created an official Instagram account Tuesday, @sussexroyal , where the two said they planned to share formal announcements and projects they’re working on. The launch of  the shared account comes after the “Suits” star and Los Angeles native deleted her personal Insta and all other social media accounts before joining the royal family.