Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced on Sunday that they will take “parental leave” from their jobs following the birth of their second child, Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor.
The couple did not indicate how long they would remain out of the workforce while caring for their newborn daughter but included information about their decision in their official birth announcement on their Archewell Foundation website, according to Town & Country Magazine.
“While the Duke and Duchess are on parental leave, Archewell will continue to do important work and publish stories on the site,” according to a statement on the website.
Prince Harry did technically not take any “parental leave” after the birth of their first child, now-2-year-old Archie, though he and other royals are allowed the same amount of official parental leave as other United Kingdom citizens — two weeks for paternity leave and six months for maternity leave. Meghan, who was, at the time, a working royal, suspended public appearances for four months.
Now that the pair have split from the royal family, they are not obligated to make any public appearances on behalf of the royal family and can take any length of parental leave their current jobs are willing to support. At the moment, both are reportedly working on independent projects with entertainment and retail companies — Netflix, Spotify, and Proctor & Gamble, to name a few — and Prince Harry is working remotely for tech startup BetterUp as its “chief impact officer.”
There, he is expected to offer input on “product strategy decisions and charitable contributions, and advocate publicly on topics related to mental health,” according to a report from CNN.
Meghan just published a children’s book, “The Bench,” which is expected to hit store shelves this summer.
The couple’s charitable foundation, Archewell, will continue to operate in their absence.
The pair announced that they were expecting their second child earlier this year, on Valentine’s Day, and revealed that they were expecting a girl during a controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the pair also alleged that their “Megxit” break from the royals was partially motivated by what they took to be racial animus. Meghan implied, in the interview, that her son Archie was not given the title of “Prince” because of his mixed-race heritage.
A source close to the couple later admitted that the suggestion may have been in error, as Archie, like other royal great-grandchildren not in direct line of succession to the throne, was denied the title by an early 20th-century order, and was never going to be called “Prince Archie.”
The couple welcomed Lilibet Diana on June 4th, they noted on Archewell’s website.
“On June 4th, we were blessed with the arrival of our daughter, Lili,” they said. “She is more than we could have ever imagined, and we remain grateful for the love and prayers we’ve felt from across the globe. Thank you for your continued kindness and support during this very special time for our family.”