Prime minister Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie has announced she is pregnant with their second child.
In a message to friends on her private Instagram feed, Ms Johnson also revealed that she suffered a miscarriage earlier in the year which left her “heartbroken”.
She said that she was expecting to give birth to the new child in December.
“Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas,” she wrote.
“At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken.
“I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves.”
Ms Johnson added: “Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well.
“I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too.”
The announcement suggests that Ms Johnson was pregnant at the time of her marriage to the 57-year-old prime minister on 29 May in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral.
As Carrie Symonds, she had been the first unmarried partner of a PM to move into 10 Downing Street. She was also the first partner of the serving prime minister in Downing Street to become a first-time mother.
The pair were congratulated by political friends and rivals on social media.
Education secretary Gavin Williamson welcomed the “wonderful news”, while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: “Congratulations to Carrie and Boris Johnson on the happy news that they’re expecting another child.
“I’m very sorry to hear of Carrie’s earlier miscarriage. I’m sure that her speaking out will be of comfort to others. Every best wish to them both.”
Mr Johnson will now become the second PM to have two new children while serving at No 10, following Lord John Russell, whose wife Frances gave birth to sons in 1848 and 1849, during his first term in office.
The current prime minister is only the fourth in more than 170 years to have a child while in post, following David Cameron, Tony Blair and Lord Russell.
The Johnsons’ first child together, Wilfred, was born on 29 April last year. Mr Johnson has at least five other children.
Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born only a month after his father was left fighting for his life on a hospital ventilator with Covid-19.
His first and second names honoured the PM’s grandfather and Ms Johnson’s grandfather, while the third was chosen in gratitude to NHS doctors Nick Price and Nick Hart, who the couple credited with saving Mr Johnson’s life.
Downing Street said the prime minister had been due to work this weekend from his Chequers residence in Buckinghamshire, although it is not known if the couple are there together.
