The 14 royal pregnancy rules Meghan Markle will have to follow

The moment that British royal enthusiasts have been waiting for since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said “I Do” has finally come to pass: The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expecting a baby! Kensington Palace announced the news of Meghan’s pregnancy the morning of October 15, complete with an approximate due date of spring 2019.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are far from what many consider a traditional royal couple.

But now that Meghan is pregnant with the newest addition to the royal family (who will be seventh in line, according to the rules of succession), there will be lots of traditions to uphold.

And the first is that in British terms, one does not “get pregnant.” Rather, one “falls pregnant.”

So when you hear that Meghan has “fallen pregnant,” please don’t be alarmed. It’s perfectly good news.

While you’ll likely see a lot of Meghan during the seven/eight months during which she’s publically pregnant, what you won’t see is a lot of skin.

While maternity fashions have become more body conscious in recent years, it’s virtually unheard of for an expectant royal to show cleavage—despite that larger breasts are as much a natural part of pregnancy as a swollen belly.

Perhaps Meghan needs to look towards Jackie Kennedy, whose signature looks will never go out of style.

Kate Middleton suffered terrible morning sickness in all three of her pregnancies.

It was so bad, in fact, that it had a clinical name: hyperemesis gravidarum, which the official royal website explained in a press release is “very acute morning sickness, which may require supplementary hydration, medication, and nutrients.”

If Meghan’s pregnancy proves difficult, as Kate’s pregnancies were, Meghan won’t be suffering alone.

The entire world will be suffering right along with her.

A woman’s bosom isn’t the only thing that swells when she’s expecting.

Swollen feet are a normal part of pregnancy, and many women cope by wearing comfy shoes, especially sandals, which allow those poor tootsies to breathe.

But not expectant royals.

Just as they must maintain decorum around their décolletage, they must also keep their toes covered, no matter how swollen their feet or how sweltering the temperatures.

Not pregnant but feeling bloated? Bloating can be triggered by certain foods, but it also can be the result of other, more surprising factors.

Most pregnant women are advised against travelling in the third trimester.

Royals, however, are advised against traveling at all during their pregnancies, especially overseas.

But Meghan might get some wiggle room.

The pregnancy news was announced right before she and Prince Harry launched a tour of Australia, and it can only be assumed that she’ll come back to England to give birth.

Don’t have a Royal bank account and want to travel? Here are 5 hacks to help you stretch your holiday budget.

Since the 1950s, eager-to-know expectant parents have been happily dispensing with the “mystery” of whether they’re having a boy or a girl via sonogram.

And some royals have joined in, including Princess Diana, who learned that Prince Harry would be a boy sometime during the pregnancy (although she didn’t tell Prince Charles, and here’s why).

However, what a royal must never do is reveal the gender to the public in advance of the birth.

Post birth no doubt Meghan will be exercising to get back to her usual figure.

Since 1841, every royal baby has been christened in an identical robe.

The original robe was made for the christening of Queen Victoria’s oldest daughter.

Queen Elizabeth was dressed in the same robe for her christening, and so were all her children.

In fact, all the Queen’s grandchildren were dressed in that very robe until 2008, when the Earl and Countess of Wessex’s son was dressed in a replica designed to preserve the original, according to the BBC.

Apaprently they have been saving their wedding cake to serve at their future children’s christenings.

With the gender of the soon-to-be-born heir a tightly-held secret, Meghan won’t be able to prepare an elaborate layette, or at least she’ll have to go with a neutral color like yellow.

In addition, anything but “formal” attire is frowned up for royal babies, so if Meghan has always dreamed of putting her baby in a bib embroidered with, “Spit happens,” sorry, but it’s not happening.

No matter how good the little bub looks, Meghan will no doubt think twice about posting hundreds of pictures on facebook.

Meghan Markle won’t be showered with a cake made of diapers.

The purpose of a baby shower is to “shower” the expectant mother with useful gifts she can use once her baby is born.

To shower an expectant royal as such would be considered “bad taste.” That’s why Kate Middleton never had one, nor did Princess Diana or any other royal mummy.

You could probably get away with gifting her one of these awesome Royal Pop! Dolls though.

A popular baby shower gift is a receiving blanket, which is a small, lightweight blanket used for swaddling your baby.

But there will be no point in gifting Meghan and Harry with receiving blankets, as their baby’s will already have been made by G.H. Hurt & Son, which has been making all royal receiving blankets for the past century.

Although when Prince George was born, he was famously introduced to the world in an Aden + Anais swaddle.