The Queen shows her delight at her EIGHTH great-grandchild after birth of royal baby

THE Queen today cheerfully declared she has eight great-grandchildren after Meghan Markle gave birth to a royal baby boy.

The 93-year-old monarch smiled as she was congratulated on the newest member of the Royal Family - the as of yet unnamed Baby Sussex.

Her Majesty was today speaking with Jean Chretien, the former Prime Minister of Canada, at a luncheon for members of the Order of Merit.

Ex-politician Mr Chretien could be jovially asking: "Life is good for Your Majesty?"

The smiling Queen then replied: "Yes, thank you".

Mr Chretien then gave her his best wishes, gushing: "Congratulations. Another great grandchild! How many of them have you got now?"

The Queen replied "eight".

She was today joined by husband Prince Philip - a rare appearance for the Duke of Edinburgh since he retired from public life.

Today's event was also the first time since the 97-year-old prince has been seen at a public event since the car crash near Sandringham earlier this year.

The Queen is not the only one excited about the arrival of Baby Sussex, with Prince William and Kate Middleton also gushing over how excited they were at the latest addition to the Royal Family.

The 37-year-old welcomed his little brother to the "sleep deprivation society" as he arrived at a London event with wife Kate.

Meanwhile, grandfather Prince Charles is also keen to meet Baby Sussex, telling media as he arrived in Germany: "We couldn’t be more delighted at the news and we’re looking forward to meeting the baby when we return."

NATION AWAITS

And while the nation is eagerly awaiting photos of the newborn - expected to come as early as tomorrow - Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have made the most of spending quality time together.

Royal commentator Omid Scobie said: "It will be a quiet day in terms of announcements but tomorrow’s photo call is not far away.

"Until then, Harry and Meghan are quietly enjoying private time at Frogmore Cottage with their new son.

"I’m told their first night as a family of three was peaceful and emotional."

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It comes after Meghan, 37, had her dreams of a home birth dashed as she was forced to make a secret hospital dash to give birth.

The couple had hoped to welcome their baby at Frogmore Cottage but Meghaninstead had to be driven to the exclusive Portland private hospital in central London by Harry and their Scotland Yard security team.

Sources said the operation to get Meghan - who was a week overdue - to the clinic was so secret that even senior royals weren’t told.

Within hours of the dawn birth, the couple were back at Frogmore where Harry, 34, gave an impromptu press conference to break the news to the world.

The beaming dad couldn't stop gushing as he announced Meghan had given birth to a "very healthy baby boy".

Speaking from Windsor, Harry said: "It's been the most amazing experience I could ever have possibly imagined.

"How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension. But we're both absolutely thrilled.

"We're both absolutely thrilled and so grateful for all the love and support from everybody out there, it's been amazing, so we just wanted to share this with everybody."

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