Meghan Markle, wife of Prince Harry, is in labour, says Buckingham Palace

"The Duchess went into labour in the early hours of this morning," the palace said in a statement on Monday. "The Duke of Sussex was by Her Royal Highnesses’ side. An announcement will be made soon." Meghan went into labor in her 41st week of pregnancy, one week past her due date. She was last seen in public in March and waited out her pregnancy at home at Frogmore Cottage with her mother, Doria Ragland, and Prince Harry.

Official confirmation from Buckingham Palace that the Duchess of Sussex went into labour in the early hours of this morning #RoyalBaby pic.twitter.com/GdUL1R66za

— Charlie Proctor (@MonarchyUK) May 6, 2019

It is expected Buckingham Palace will announce when the Duchess has given birth via press release and on the Sussex Instagram account after the new family has had some private time together. At that time, we will learn the baby’s sex and weight.

The child of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex -- Meghan Markle became a duchess when she wed Prince Harry a year ago -- is due very soon. Baby Sussex, as the child is known ahead of its birth, will be a product of two cultures: its father a prince who is a symbol of Britain; its mother quintessentially American -- a self-made TV star with a white father and an African American mother.

"It's quite possible the child will have a lot of American influence," royal commentator Hugo Vickers said. "The royal family is not totally unused to that kind of thing. Children have been born with Greek mothers or German mothers in the past, obviously, but Meghan is the first American mother so close in the royal family." Certainly, Meghan isn't following any of the royal scripts when it comes to childbirth preparations.

Unlike Harry's brother Prince William and his wife Kate, Harry and Meghan have chosen to keep the details about their baby planning private , despite ? or perhaps because of ? intense media interest in the baby's arrival, expected in the next few weeks.

The couple haven't revealed where Meghan intends to give birth, so there isn't likely to be a 24/7 media stakeout outside the hospital as was the case for the births of William and Kate's three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Don't expect a photo of the happy family walking out of the hospital looking picture perfect hours after the birth either Harry and Meghan have said they want to celebrate privately with their extended family before telling the world a baby has been born.

(With AP inputs)