They are proud parents to Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, who they’ve raised in California since quitting royal life in 2020. And now, sources say that the Sussexes are weighing up whether to expand their family of four to five, by adopting a child.
An insider says, ‘Harry and Meghan find the prospect of adoption incredibly exciting. Growing up as an only child, Meghan always wanted at least four children, and it was her dream to have a big family. Given she met Harry later on in life, adoption was never out of the question.’
Closer reached out to a spokesperson for the Sussexes for comment but did not hear back.
While Prince Harry previously said that he’d have ‘two children maximum’ owing to environmental factors – which differs from giving a child in need a home - he and Meghan were accused of hypocrisy last year when they accepted two free private flights on their Nigeria trip, estimated to have pumped out 12 tonnes in carbon emissions.
However, a report from 2019 suggested that the former royals were open to adopting, sparked by their visit to Botswana in their early days of dating. A source said, ‘Both Harry and Meghan were deeply moved when they visited an orphanage [in Botswana]. They vowed to each other that they would go back and give one of those children a home.’
The adoption speculation comes as former Suits actress Meghan, 43, has been hitting the ground running in 2025 with her lifestyle brand, As Ever, which has been accompanied by her Netflix series, With Love, Meghan, and new podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder. While the mum of two has received support from fans for her new endeavours, the projects have been widely panned by critics.
Meanwhile, Harry, 40 - who returned to the UK this month to appeal the decision to remove his police protection while in his home country – recently resigned from his co-founded charity, Sentebale, following a clash with the chair of the board, Dr. Sophie Chandauka, who accused him of ‘bullying and harassment’. The duke has not responded to the claims.
And now, sources say that while Harry and Meghan – who have been married since 2018 - would love to one day give their children another sibling and a child in need a home, it’s not lost on them that adopting could potentially save and enhance their public image in Hollywood as well.
'Meghan feels as though adoption is something that could drastically help repair her and Harry’s tarnished images and help save them in the public eye. Obviously there are many more important considerations they need to weigh up, but it’s another factor that could cement their decision, especially given the fact their royal currency is currently hanging in the balance. A third child could be the pivotal turning point and help them secure their future in Hollywood and on a global platform,’ the insider says.
They add, ' While primarily they would love to give a child a home, adoption could also be positive PR for them at a time when they need it the most - not to mention potentially help secure the renewal of their Netflix contract by offering a fly-on-the-wall series to document their experience and give the streaming giant rights to the first exclusive interview.’
The relationship between the Duke of Sussex and his father, King Charles III, and brother and sister-in-law, the Prince and Princess of Wales, has been famously strained for several years. Tension was heightened by Harry’s explosive claims in his 2023 autobiography, Spare, including that Prince William physically attacked him, and that his older brother allegedly branded Meghan ‘difficult’, ‘rude’ and ‘abrasive’.
But after Harry also claimed that the King had begged his sons not to fight and ‘make his final years a misery’, sources say that the addition of a new child into the fold could also help Harry patch things up with his own family. The last time he is thought to have seen his father is following the monarch’s cancer diagnosis last February, at which time he hinted a reconciliation could be on the cards. ‘Any illness, any sickness, brings families together,’ Harry said in an interview.
Now the source says, 'If the couple were to adopt, Harry hopes a third child would be an opportunity to make peace with his family. Meghan’s been saying it could make them all a family unit again.’
And, where Meghan is concerned, adoption would be an opportunity for her to achieve the goal of following in the footsteps of fellow actress and philanthropist, Angelia Jolie. As well as being mother to Shiloh, 18, and 16-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne, Angelina also adopted Maddox, 23, Pax, 21, and Zahara, 20, with her now ex-husband, Brad Pitt.
‘Meghan’s always seen herself as “the next Angelina Jolie” and loves the thought of having a multicultural brood of adopted children,’ the insider adds.