The rituals of childbirth for the modern woman are filled with balloons, cupcakes and gifts from friends.

But for Meghan Markle, the actress who exchanged a Gossip Girl lifestyle for The Crown, the rituals of childbirth are much more secretive and imbued with tradition.

On Monday morning London time, the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle gave birth to a baby boy with Prince Harry by her side.

Mamamia’s daily news podcast The Quicky explains how royals really give birth.

Buckingham Palace announced the Duchess had gone into labour in the early hours of Monday morning, and less than half an hour later, confirmed the couple had welcomed a boy.

Weighing 7lbs. 3oz, the new royal baby is eighth in line to the throne.

The birth has ended weeks – or more accurately, months – of speculation about how Meghan would choose to give birth, what royal rules she would follow and what rules she would not.

Here are all the royal birth rules we know, including the ones we suspect the 37-year-old broke.

Prince Harry wasn’t allowed inside. 

As she gave birth, there was a possibility Meghan Markle wasn’t able to hold Prince Harry’s hand.

But neither of them were having that.

According to The Sun, all men are meant to be excluded from the birthing suite, and Prince Charles reportedly wasn’t allowed to witness the birth of his children.

In modern times this rule has been relaxed, and Prince William was allowed to be by Kate’s side during the birth of the couple’s three children, George, 5, Charlotte, 3, and Louis, 11 months.

While Meghan Markle chose her own medical team, shunning “men in suits” (the Queen’s official medical team) from the birthing suite and opting instead for a female led team of doctors, she and Harry followed in the Cambridge’s footsteps.

When asked what it was like to be at the birth, Harry laughed, “I haven’t been at many births, this is definitely my first”.

“I am incredibly proud of my wife, and every father and parent will say their child is absolutely amazing. But this little thing is absolutely to die for. So I am just over the moon.”

The Queen was the first person to know. 

It is royal protocol for the Queen to be the first person alerted of the birth of a royal baby. It’s been previously reported that an encrypted phone is used to ensure there is no breach.

While it was previously royal tradition to announce the birth of a royal baby on an easel outside Buckingham Palace, these days the royal PR team are ~hip~ and made the announcement on Twitter and Instagram (but the easel was still there!).

 

View this post on Instagram

 

We are pleased to announce that Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their firstborn child in the early morning on May 6th, 2019. Their Royal Highnesses’ son weighs 7lbs. 3oz. The Duchess and baby are both healthy and well, and the couple thank members of the public for their shared excitement and support during this very special time in their lives. More details will be shared in the forthcoming days.

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on May 6, 2019 at 6:37am PDT

There were secret meetings with nurses. 

According to The Sun, the midwives involved in Meghan Markle’s birth were sworn to secrecy.

In addition to the midwives, there was also doctors and anaesthetists on hand.

Since the public quite frankly had no idea about the details of any royal births, we suspect they kept their word.

A town crier announced the birth. 

No Twitter or Instagram? Worry not.

A town crier by the name of Tony Appleton, the royal family's "unofficial" town crier, proclaimed to ye that the baby has arrived.

After the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, Tony Appleton carted himself, his fancy uniform and his powerful lungs to the streets of London to make the announcements and you can bet your boots he was out there proclaiming the birth of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first son.

Appleton calls himself an "independent town crier" because it's a historic tradition he is passionate about continuing.

Thanks, Tones.

Canons will be fired. 

Nothing says "welcome to the world" like... firing cannons.

But 41 rounds will likely be fired by the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery in Green Park sometime on Tuesday, and 62 rounds of gunfire will also go off at the Tower of London, as is tradition to commemorate a royal baby.

How... pleasant.

We'll just be waiting here, twiddling our thumbs.