The Duchess of Sussex has given birth to a baby son weighing 7lbs 3oz and mother and child are doing well, Buckingham Palace palace has announced.

The couple announced the news on their Sussex Royal Instagram page on Monday afternoon.

The Herald:

Speaking from Windsor, the Duke of Sussex said: “I’m very excited to announce that Meghan and myself had a baby boy this morning, a very healthy baby boy.”

Buckingham Palace confirmed the child was safely delivered at 5.26am on Monday morning.

Meghan's mother Doria Ragland is said to be "overjoyed" by the arrival of her first grandchild and is with the Duke and Duchess at Frogmore Cottage. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced they were having a baby on 15 October 2018, five months after their wedding.

The Herald:

Harry and Meghan's baby will be seventh in line to the throne and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's eighth great-grandchild, and a fourth grandchild for the Prince of Wales.

READ MORE: Scottish mothers share their home birth experiences as Meghan Markle prepares for hers

The baby's sex will be a surprise for the couple, who have chosen not to find out what they were having.

Ahead of the birth, the duke and duchess made a personal decision to keep the arrangements private, amid speculation they had opted for a home birth at their new home Frogmore Cottage, close to the Queen's Windsor Castle home.

They said they will only share the news of the baby's arrival once they have had a chance to celebrate privately as a family.

Meghan was last seen on an official engagement on March 19 when she signed a book of condolences in London with Harry for the victims of the Christchurch terror attack.

The American former actress and the duke moved into their renovated home Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate at the beginning of April, as they prepared for their baby's arrival.