Samantha Markle shares her reaction to the news of Meghan’s pregnancy

Samantha Markle has told how "a baby changes everything" as she reacted to the news of her estranged half-sister's pregnancy.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced on Monday that they are "very pleased" to be expecting their first child, who is due in Spring 2019. A statement issued by Kensington Palace reads:

"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019. "Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public."

And while Meghan has had a strained relationship with some of her family members - including her father, Thomas, and her half-sister - Samantha has now said she hopes that old wounds would be able heal ahead of the new arrival. She told The Sun:

“It just makes everything that happened over the last year disappear. I want Meghan to be happy and calm and have peace. Everybody needs to be positive. “I would hope that — for the sake of the baby, the family, the world and my dad — that leaving him out of the statement was not intentional. “I hope my dad is included and at a proper time. If he is excluded, I won’t be happy. It is in the best interests of the baby for my dad to be included. “A baby changes everything and softens everyone. I would only hope that there would be some adjustment or some way of including him.”

Samantha went on to explain that she hopes everyone will be able to put "any negative or hurt feelings" to the side and "just work towards a positive joyous new life in the world." Adding that she thinks "everything has to work itself out", she continued:

“At a proper time, there should be a sit-down wherein everyone can address this properly. Everything has to work itself out. "I want to allow Meg and Harry to bring my dad into it in their own appropriate time because they very well should do. Although I can still say I love my sister, I wasn’t happy with the way my father was being treated. “But, you know, we’re also seeing now that there was a lot going on — there may have been a lot of stress. “I’m not saying that’s an excuse for not communicating with my dad, but maybe she wanted to wait until the exact right moment. "I don’t want Meg to feel any stress and I want my dad to feel happy and I think all things will come full circle.”