I discussed the history of royal births with Eun Kim at Today.com. Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have decided to keep plans to for the arrival of their baby private, which has prompted speculation concerning whether they will choose a hospital or a private residence for the birth.
Here is an excerpt from the interview:
“A home birth would be a return to earlier royal traditions,” said historian Carolyn Harris, author of Raising Royalty: 1000 Years of Royal Parenting.
Home births were actually common for women of all social backgrounds in the United Kingdom until the creation of the National Health Service in 1948, the turning point for hospital births.
But there was another reason for members of the royal family to continue delivering their children behind palace walls.
“For royalty, home births had the advantage of privacy and all the space to accommodate large numbers of official and personal visitors without inconveniencing other families in a hospital,” Harris said.