Dress designer reveals how he had to keep mum about Meghan's pregnancy secret

The Duchess of Sussex didn’t publicly announce her pregnancy until last Monday. While the royal family were reportedly told at Princess Eugenie’s wedding, there was someone else who was in on the secret.

Don O’Neill, the Irish fashion designer and creative director of Theia, has admitted her knew Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were expecting a baby before Kensington Palace broke the news.

O’Neill designed the white dress Meghan wore to a private audience and reception with King Tupou VI of Tonga on Thursday.

Despite being days away from his bridal show, when the Duchess’ stylist reached out in September to ask if O’Neill could make a dress for Meghan’s Australian tour, he immediately set to work, sending the requested gown to the palace in just two days.

The stylist quickly responded to confirm the Duchess “loved” the dress but requested the gown be remade “with extra seam allowance.”

“We knew immediately why this extra allowance was required, but mum’s the word, and with less than one week to my bridal show, all hands were on deck once more,” he told Daily Mail.

He adds: “We re-made the gown and I literally had to run down Broadway that Friday night to catch the UPS truck, making it with just two minutes to spare!”

And it was certainly worth the effort as the Duchess looked stunning in the $995 (approx £775) gown, will soon be available for pre-order, teaming it with Princess Diana’s ring that she also wore on her wedding day.

Since the announcement of her pregnancy, all eyes have been on the Duchess’ growing baby bump, which seems to have been changing in size over the royal tour.

While some have been speculating whether this means she could be further along in her pregnancy than the suspected, four months, experts have revealed there are several bonafide reasons why baby bumps appear different sizes at certain times of the day.

Click below for all the Duchess of Sussex’ royal tour looks

The tour has certainly been eventful for Meghan who has had to cut back her schedule slightly in order to pace herself throughout the busy trip.

And earlier this week the Duchess was forced to cut short an official royal appearance, after Kensington Palace deemed it a ‘security risk’.

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