The official Instagram account of the British royal family shared the news that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are expecting a baby in the spring of 2019.
Rumors of Markle's pregnancy have been circulating for some time. The family confirmed the gossip as the couple touched down in Australia Monday on their first official tour.
The Instagram post said: "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019. Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public."
Fans of the royal family had been scrutinizing Markle's outfits for weeks. Speaking to New Idea before the official announcement, fashion expert Donny Galella said Markle's choice of attire after landing in Australia was no coincidence as she "accessorized with matching folders that she held covering her midsection."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip is the second tour of Australia by the younger generation of royals, after Prince William, Kate and their eldest son, George, visited in 2014.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are to ride a ferry across Sydney Harbour past the Opera House on Tuesday, as well as watch an indigenous contemporary dance troupe and see koalas at the Taronga Zoo. The couple will meet farmers affected by a severe drought on Wednesday.
Their trip coincides with the Invictus Games to be held in Sydney from Oct. 20-27. The games founded by Harry are an international paralympic-style event for military personnel wounded in action.
Harry and Meghan will also visit New Zealand and the South Pacific islands of Tonga and Fiji during their tour.
Australia, a constitutional monarchy whose head of state is the British monarch, voted in 1999 against becoming a republic.
Support for a republic hovered around 50 percent in a January poll, a level largely unchanged in recent years, and there is little appetite to put the issue back on the agenda.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who took the top job in August after a backbench revolt ousted predecessor Malcolm Turnbull, is a constitutional monarchist.
