Meghan Markle 'planning to take just three months' maternity leave' after birth of Baby Sussex

The Duchess of Sussex is just days away from welcoming her first child.

While mothers in the UK can take up to 52 weeks’ maternity leave, Meghan is reportedly planning a return to royal duties just 12 weeks after giving birth.

The mum-to-be, 37, was last seen in public on March 19, when she and Harry made an unscheduled visit to New Zealand House to sign a condolence book for the victims of the Christchurch terror attacks.

Since then she and Harry, 34, have moved into their new home Frogmore Cottage, in Windsor.

A royal source told The Sun: “Meghan has made it very clear she wants to return to work as soon as possible. She has huge amounts of energy, is extremely determined and wants to be as hands-on as possible with her charities.

“Nothing has been written into her diary just yet, as she wants to wait and see how she feels after having the baby.

“She’s pencilled in three months, but she’ll most likely return to public life in six weeks — on the Queen’s official birthday, Trooping the Colour, in June.”

The Duchess of Cambridge took just five weeks off after giving birth to Prince George in 2013 and four months off after Princess Charlotte was born in 2015.

She returned to royal duties last October after having six months’ maternity leave, following the arrival of Prince Louis on 23 April 2018.

In the US, The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) requires 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for mothers of newborn or newly adopted children if they work for a company with 50 or more employees.

So for Meghan, who was born in Los Angeles, California, this would be seen as standard.

Ahead of the arrival of Baby Sussex, Buckingham Palace has revealed the duke and duchess want to keep the details of the child’s birth private.

It is understood that there will not be the media photocall outside the Lindo Wing, like we’ve seen with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after the birth of each of their three children.

Instead, photographs of Meghan and Harry’s baby will be released a few days after the birth.