Secrets, Scoops & Royal Scandals - Inside The Ruthless World Of Palace Gossip

They jet off to Fiji with Harry and Meghan and hike the Himalayas with William and Kate. But with fierce competition in the ranks, plus a new American duchess shaking up age-old traditions, the life of a royal correspondent has never been more intense, writes K.J. Yossman.

Nobody knew where or even when Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, was going to give birth. As her rumored late-April due date inched closer, the British press was crazed trying to gain insight. Every day, new stories appeared: Meghan would copy her sister-in-law, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and opt for the fancy Lindo Wing, claimed one tabloid, referring to the private arm of St Mary’s Hospital in London where countless royal babies have been born (including Meghan’s husband, Prince Harry). No, swore another, she’s chosen a hospital in Surrey where Harry’s aunt gave birth. Actually, trumpeted a third, the baby will be born at Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and it’s not only a home birth but a water birth. In reality, the only thing anyone knew for sure was that nobody knew anything, which, it seems, was just how Meghan and Harry wanted it.

For royal correspondents, whose livelihoods depend on reporting every intimate detail of the British Royal Family’s existence, the dearth of information was torturous, especially when compared with Kate’s three meticulously coordinated deliveries, during which the Cambridges’ communications team sent out regular updates. By contrast, the only detail Harry and Meghan were willing to confirm was that, unlike Kate and William, they wouldn’t hold a photo call on the day of the birth.