Royal fans are waiting in anticipation to see whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby puts in an appearance over the Easter weekend.

A double celebration could be on the cards if Harry and Meghan’s first born arrives on the Queen’s birthday on Easter Sunday.

The new full moon – which begins on Good Friday and is known as the Pink Moon – might also have an impact on the royal baby’s birth.

Anecdotal evidence suggests labour can be induced by the lunar cycle and the start of a full moon.

Meghan and Harry
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are awaiting the birth of their baby (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Meghan, who has said her baby is due in late April or early May, will be counting down the days until she meets her son or daughter.

April’s full moon is called the Pink Moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

The name comes not from its colour, but from the pink wildflowers that bloom in the early spring in the US and Canada.

A Pink Moon
A full moon, known as a Pink Moon in the month of April, rising at North Berwick in East Lothian in 2018 (Jane Barlow/PA)

In terms of labour, the suggestion is that a full moon’s gravitational pull affects the amniotic fluid in the same way it affects the water in the sea and rivers, as well as influencing the levels of the hormone melatonin.

Maternity wards are said to be busier during a full moon, although there is debate in the medical world about whether the moon does encourage women to go into labour.

When the Duchess of Cambridge gave birth to Prince George on July 22 2013, it was the day of a full moon.

Newborn Prince George
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave the Lindo Wing with Prince George (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

She went into labour with Princess Charlotte two days before a full moon, but with Prince Louis the moon was only in its first quarter.

The Pink Moon is used to fix the date of Easter, which is always the Sunday after the first full moon following the Spring Equinox.

Pink Moon
A Pink Moon seen through a cherry blossom tree in Dublin (PA)

There are also suggestions electrical storms and a drop in barometric pressure can bring on labour.

Just before Kate was admitted into hospital in 2013, western central London, near where her Kensington Palace apartment is based, experienced isolated heavy rain, thunder and lightning strikes.

Parents-to-be Harry and Meghan are settling into life in their renovated new home Frogmore Cottage on the Windsor Estate.

The couple, who married in a glittering ceremony in St George’s Chapel last year, are keeping details of their birth plans private, and will only announce their son or daughter’s arrival once they have celebrated together as a new family.

Royal wedding
Harry and Meghan kiss on the steps of St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle (Ben Birchall/PA)

Meghan is said to be hoping for a home birth, but other options include a maternity unit close to Windsor, such as Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey.

Or the American former actress may decide to follow in the footsteps of George and Amal Clooney who had their twins at the exclusive, private Kensington wing of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

Royal fans are eagerly waiting to hear news of the royal baby’s birth, with some on social media declaring “It can’t be much longer now!” and others exclaiming their “heart skipped a beat, thinking it was baby time” after Harry and Meghan’s @SussexRoyal Instagram issued a post – about charity donations.

Bookmakers Coral have odds of 2/1 that the baby will be born on his or her great-grandmother the Queen’s birthday on April 21 , and 5/1 that the baby will be called Elizabeth if a girl, and 6/1 Diana after Harry’s late mother.

The odds are 4/1 that the royal baby will be born sometime between the Good Friday and Easter Monday bank holidays.