Madonna has said she is "overjoyed" to be adding to her family through adoption, confirming she will be welcoming twin sisters from Malawi to her brood.
The 58-year-old pop legend has become a mother to twins Esther and Stella Mwale, aged four, following a long adoption process.
![From left, David Banda, Mercy James, Madonna and Sean Penn.](/web/20170208224950im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/t/t/g/k/5/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gu8q2w.png/1486587784809.jpg)
The news comes one day after a spokesman for Malawi's judiciary said the singer had been cleared by the African nation's High Court to adopt two children.
"I can officially confirm I have completed the process of adopting twin sisters from Malawi and am overjoyed that they are now part of our family," Madonna announced in an Instagram post on Thursday.
"I am deeply grateful to all those in Malawi who helped make this possible, and I ask the media please to respect our privacy during this transitional time."
The singer shared a picture of herself walking hand in hand with the girls.
Madonna and her family have been in contact with the twins since at least July 2016, when she shared a picture of her eldest daughter, Lourdes, hugging the pair on Instagram during a family trip to Malawi.
The twins, whose mother died in childbirth and whose father attended the court proceedings, are the third and fourth children the singer has adopted from the developing nation.
In 2006, she welcomed son David into her family, followed by daughter Mercy in 2009.
She also has two children, Lourdes Leon, 20, and Rocco Ritchie, 16, from previous relationships.
The news somewhat unexpected given that, in January, Madonna denied she was looking to add to her family following reports she had filed an adoption application.
"I am in Malawi to check on the children's hospital in Blantyre and my other work with Raising Malawi and then heading home," she told People at the time.