Every Theory About Meghan Markle's Due Date With Baby Sussex

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, definitely seems to have hit her stride in her first pregnancy. During the royal family's annual walk to church on Christmas morning, she looked positively glowing with her growing bump on full display, but as public as Meghan's pregnancy may be, royal protocol has left many of the specifics a mystery. In October, Kensington Palace announced she and Prince Harry were expecting a child "in the Spring of 2019," which, let's be honest, is frustratingly vague. But these five theories about Meghan Markle's due date are at least attempting to shed some more light on when we can actually expect their little one to finally arrive.

Though not all Brits are huge fans of the monarchy, they do seem to get quite a kick out of placing bets whenever a big royal event takes place. At Duchess Meghan and Prince Harry's wedding in May, for instance, betting companies offered up odds on everything from Meghan's dress designer, to Harry's facial hair, and even the color of the Queen's hat. And now that a baby is on the way, even more betting opportunities have opened up.

In fact, according to The Sun, it seems people are guessing not only when Meghan will give birth, but whether she'll have a boy or a girl, or even if she'll surprise us all and end up having twins.

Of course, the only way we'll ever know for sure is when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex actually go ahead and announce the details of their child's birth — something which will probably happen outside St. Mary's Hospital's Lindo Wing, as it did for all three of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's children, and for Prince William and Harry themselves when they were born.

But that doesn't stop inquiring minds from trying to guess. And so far, here are the most compelling hypotheses:

1. The 12-Week Wait Theory

Preliminary guesses for Meghan's due date had her giving birth sometimes in April, mostly because many couples choose to wait until the end of the first trimester to publicly share the news. At the time of Meghan and Harry's announcement, the duchess was said to already have had her 12-week scan, according to Town & Country. But soon, royal correspondents Emily Andrews and Omid Scobie began to theorize on their podcast that Meghan may have actually been a bit further along — around the 14 or 15-week mark — which could have brought her due date to around the first week of April or so.

2. The Stacked Birthstone Ring Theory

Meghan has clearly already established herself as quite the stylish royal, but, recently, eagle-eyed fans began wonder if one of her jewelry choices may have had a particularly special meaning. During the couple's Australian tour, Meghan was spotted wearing three stacked rings by Canadian brand Ecksand, according to Cosmopolitan, each of which held a different colored stone.

The possible significance? As one fan pointed out on Twitter, the green stone of the first ring could represent Meghan's birthstone, which is peridot, while the third ring seems to be a sapphire, aka Harry's birthstone. The middle ring? A diamond, which of course is a perennially popular choice for a ring. *But* it also happens to be the birthstone for April — the rumored month Baby Sussex is due.

3. The Christmas Day Comment Theory

As fun as it may be to read into Meghan's jewelry choices for sentimental clues, she could always just do the world a favor and tell us directly. And actually, on Christmas Day she kind of did. After attending church services with Prince Harry and the rest of the royals on Christmas morning, Meghan took some time to greet the crowd of well-wishers, and, unsurprisingly, they asked her about the baby. On Twitter, one user shared photos she took from her spot in the crowd, and claimed that when she asked the duchess if she was excited about her baby's arrival, Meghan responded, "We’re nearly there."

Assuming an early April due date based on theories #1 and #2, would now just reaching the end of her second trimester — past the halfway point, to be sure, though still at least a solid 12 or 13 weeks to go if she delivers at 40 weeks. Though Meghan is clearly the most reliable source of information, that means she was already further along than even the 15 week estimation if her baby is arriving soon — March? Maybe even February? — or perhaps she's just feeling super tired and majorly pregnant at this point in the game ("nearly there" *is* a very relative term, anyway).

4. The "Four Months Along" Instagram Post Theory

One hint that Meghan may indeed be further along than previously thought? An October Instagram post by Australian singer Missy Higgins, who had the chance to chat with the duchess during her visit Down Under. Higgins shared a pic from the meeting, and wrote in the caption that she "felt sorry for her having to do all these meet-and-greets while 4 months pregnant." If Meghan were already toward the end of her fourth month at that point, she would now be around 28 or 29 weeks, which would actually bump her due date up to the end of March.

The only issue with that estimation? Higgins herself responded to all the speculation, and according to the Daily Mail, she later explained that she had just assumed that she was around four months pregnant, and that she hadn't specifically asked the duchess when she was due.

5. The Completely Unscientific Eyeball Theory

Perhaps the easiest — and most unreliable — due date estimation strategy? Just eyeballing a guess based on the size of Meghan's bump. Though we've since seen Meghan out publicly on a number of occasions, when the duchess left a Christmas carol service with Prince Harry earlier this month, according to People, she had many wondering if she was actually further along than previously thought, simply because she was looking much more pregnant she had before.

But, aside from being kind of creepy and offensive, trying to guess a due date from bump size is usually going to be completely inaccurate, simply because every woman looks different while pregnant. While there are some, like Meghan's sister-in-law, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, who are criticized for not looking pregnant *enough* based on their due dates (ugh...), others can show more quickly — especially if they've been pregnant before, or if they baby is positioned in a way that favors a more prominent bump.

In other words? We should probably just stick to an April due date and call it a day.

Ultimately, it looks like we'll all just have to wait and see when Baby Sussex chooses to make their debut — even if we did know Meghan's official due date, after all, babies rarely show up exactly when they're supposed to. And in the meantime, well, those making bets on the matter can just continue searching social media for clues.

After a very frustrating first birth experience, this Deaf mother wanted a change. Will the help of two Deaf doulas give the quality communication and birth experience this mom wants and deserves? Watch Episode Four of Romper's Doula Diaries, Season Two, below, and visit Bustle Digital Group's YouTube page for more episodes.