The pregnancy hints Meghan Markle dropped ahead of her and Prince Harry's royal baby announcement

• The subtle clues that Meghan was pregnant have been pointed out following her and Harry's huge baby announcement.
• The former Suits actress is expecting her second child with husband Prince Harry.
• In other royal news, Prince Harry gave a lovely nod to his late mum Princess Diana when he and Meghan confirmed her pregnancy.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex seems to have been hiding news of a second child with Prince Harry before the sweet announcement.

There's been a few clues that Meghan Markle gave which hinted that she was pregnant even before her lovely news.

Confirming the news, a spokesman for the couple, who already have son Archie, aged, 19-months, said, "We can confirm that Archie is going to be a big brother. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are overjoyed to be expecting their second child."

The pair shared the news with fans by releasing a photograph of themselves sat beneath a tree, with Meghan showing off her pregnancy bump but in the run-up to the official announcement, it's thought Meghan's bump or pregnancy weight gain would have been showing.

So how might Meghan, Duchess of Sussex have kept her pregnancy a secret?

Eagle-eyed fans have speculated that the couple's choice of a painted Christmas card was one way they tried to keep the pregnancy a secret, as Meghan sat on the floor with their pet dogs, Guy and Pula, in front of her as they played in the garden of their Santa Barbara, would have been more noticeable in a normal photograph.

While Meghan's due date has not yet been revealed, it's thought she would have been showing signs of pregnancy.

Harry attending engagements on his own has sparked thoughts that Meghan was keeping out of the public eye to stop such pregnancy speculation. The pair were last seen together in November when they both attended Los Angeles National Cemetary on Remembrance Sunday.

Since then, Harry made a notable appearance at the Stand Up for Heroes event in Los Angeles, whereas Meghan has stuck to video calls with charities.

And last week Meghan won the main part of her privacy case lawsuit with Associated Newspapers over the publication of letters sent to her father Thomas Markle. But the trial was due to be set for 11th January but was postponed after Meghan's lawyers have "confidential ground". This has since sparked speculation that Meghan's bump would have been visible should she have had to attend in person.

But another child was always on the cards for the couple, as Prince Harry once revealed he would have two children for the sake of the planet.

He told activist and chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall in 2019, "Two, maximum. But I’ve always thought: this place is borrowed. And, surely, being as intelligent as we all are, or as evolved as we all are supposed to be, we should be able to leave something better behind for the next generation."

Meanwhile, the couple followed in the footsteps of Harry's late mother Princess Diana, by making the sweet announcement over Valentine's weekend. As previously Buckingham Palace announced that Diana and Prince Charles were expecting their second child, Prince Harry, on February 13, 1984. The news was on the front page of every newspaper on Valentine's Day.