It was announced today that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting her first child, the palace has confirmed.
"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby," read the statement released Monday. "The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.
"The Duchess was admitted this afternoon to King Edward VII Hospital in Central London with Hyperemesis Gravidarum," the statement continued. "As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter."
The couple have made no secret of their desire to have start a family. Just recently Prince William told a young fan at a royal engagement that he and Catherine hoped to have two children. There is now word yet on when exactly Catherine is due, but fashion bloggers will have their pens ready to take note of every maternity outfit that Kate wears over the next seven or so months. Will she go full out maternity or just wear regular clothes but in larger sizes? And a royal baby means that there will be a christening. Who will be the babies godparents? No doubt both Prince Harry and Pippa will make the short list, with a few royals and aristocrats scattered in for good measure. What an end to the Queen's Jubilee year!
Ever since the royal couple's April 29, 2011 wedding, which was watched by almost a billion people, royalty watchers have been on 'bump' alert. Every time Kate drank water instead of champage or even looked just a little bit fuller, the tabloids announced that she was pregnant. Just recently both US Magazine and Life & Style had covers touting Kate's pregnancy. This time it seems the tabloids got it right for a change. If William and Kate's baby is a girl, she can expect to inherit the throne from her father, irrespective of whether any other child the royal couple has is a boy. Until recently, boys took precedence. This follows on the heels of Sweden, Norway and Belgium, which also have changed the laws of succession so that the next generation of monarchs will all be Queens.
The news couldn't have come at a better time. The couple will soon be moving into a 20-room apartment at Kensington Palace early next year. Twenty rooms should be plenty for the growing family, certainly there will be room for at least two kids! Until then, William and Kate are based in a four bedroom farmhouse at an idyllic location on Anglesey, North Wales, so William can be to his base at RAF Valley, where he's a search and rescue helicopter pilot.
There had been speculation for months that William would be leaving the RAF in the coming year to take on more royal duties. Both the Queen, 86 and Prince Philip at 91, have decided to cut back their schedules which means that someone will have to take up the slack. Now that it has been confirmed that the Duchess is pregnant, expect news in the New Year, that William will becoming a full-time royal.
Congratulations to the royal couple!
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