THE Duchess of Sussex has given birth to a son, Buckingham Palace has announced.

The baby boy weighed 7lb 3oz and was born at 5.26am.

The Duke of Sussex was at his wife’s side and mother and baby are both doing well, the palace said.

The palace said in a statement: “Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex was safely delivered of a son at 0526hrs.

“The baby weighs 7lb 3oz.

“The Duke of Sussex was present for the birth.

LIVE: It’s a boy – Harry and Meghan welcome royal baby

“The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Lady Jane Fellowes, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Earl Spencer have been informed and are delighted with the news.

“The Duchess’s mother, Doria Ragland, who is overjoyed by the arrival of her first grandchild, is with their Royal Highnesses at Frogmore Cottage.

“Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”

Harry and Meghan’s baby is seventh in line to the throne, and the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh’s eighth great-grandchild.

Royal line of succession (PA Graphics)

The baby’s sex was a surprise for the delighted couple, who chose not to find out what they were having.

The newest addition to the Windsor family is a first cousin of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Ahead of the birth, Harry and Meghan made a personal decision to keep their arrangements private, amid speculation that they had opted for a home birth at Frogmore Cottage, close to the Queen’s Windsor Castle residence.

LIVE: It’s a boy – Harry and Meghan welcome royal baby

They also said they would only share the news of the baby’s arrival once they had had a chance to celebrate privately as a family.

Baby Sussex’s birth comes less than a year after Harry married American former actress Meghan in a glittering ceremony in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Meghan and Harry Meghan and Harry have welcomed their first child (Steve Parsons/PA)

Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, became engaged following a whirlwind 16-month romance after going on a blind date in London.

The duke had told how “all the stars were aligned” when they met.

News they were expecting a baby was announced in October at the start of the couple’s busy 16-day tour to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.

Harry branded the baby “our little bump”, while Meghan said they “were nearly there” in the final weeks of her pregnancy.

Unless the Queen steps in at the last minute, the baby will not be an HRH or a prince due to rules limiting titles within the royal family which were introduced by King George V more than 100 years ago