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Will Meghan Markle & Prince Harry’s Baby Have Red Hair?

With the news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s baby came many questions. Is it a boy or a girl? What will be the baby name? How will the baby’s arrival impact the royal line of succession? And finally: Will he or she have red hair? 

As you may remember (or more likely don’t remember) from your middle school science class’s lesson on Punnett squares, red hair is a recessive gene called MC1R, or melanocortin 1 receptor. Because it’s recessive, both parents must carry the gene in order for it to be passed to their progeny. As a red-haired man, Harry definitely does, but does the gene run in Markle’s family? Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn know.

What I do know is if the Duchess of Sussex has the MC1R gene, then the likelihood of her and her beloved welcoming a redheaded child is about 50 percent. If she does not, then the chance of another redheaded royal is zero percent.

Genealogists, take this as an invitation to figure out Markle’s MC1R carrier status ASAP. Kaythanksbye.  


lex

Cat mom, yogi, brunch enthusiast

Lex is an LA native who's deeply obsessed with picnics, Slim Aarons, rosé, Hollywood history and Joan Didion. She joined PureWow in early 2017.