Royals on the Road: Duke and Duchess of Sussex's Australian tour starts with a bang

Royals on the Road is a diary of 9Honey's experiences following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle across Australia, as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex take on their first international Royal Tour.

Emerging from a media briefing at 6.45pm on the eve of the Royal Tour, I couldn’t contain my excitement as I saw the statement from Kensington Palace confirming Meghan Markle is pregnant. 

The palace announced: "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019.

"Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public."

This historic, epic tour immediately became even more thrilling - if that were possible.

The decision by Kensington Palace to announce the Duchess’s baby news the night before their first office engagement is surely to quell the expected endless speculation of 'when can we expect a baby announcement Your Royal Highnesses?' that, no-doubt, would follow the newlyweds everywhere they go over the next 16 days.

Were some of the media at this evening's briefing privy to the news before it was made public? Perhaps.

But regardless, the frenzy that’s descended on Australia now - brought with them from Kensington Palace - has only increased and will make this Australian leg of the Royal Tour perhaps our most memorable visit from the British Royal Family yet.