GETTING READY FOR BABY No.3
The duchess crams in a host of royal duties before her latest little arrival
The Duchess of Cambridge is prepping for baby No. 3. KATE’S COUNTDOWN
Rugged up in a cream Jojo Maman Bébé maternity coat, a heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge arrived at the Pegasus Primary School on March 6 in Oxford, about 80km northwest of London, and made a beeline for a tiny spectator outside the school’s entrance. Squirming in her mother’s arms, 9-monthold Tillie appeared to be waving to the
duchess, prompting Kate to walk over for a sweet bonding moment. With her and Prince William’s third baby on approach, the duchess was clearly in baby mode.
Fast-forward to April 9 and signs that the royal couple’s next addition was ready to make an entrance were evident as officials set up barriers and No Parking signs outside the Lindo Wing of London’s St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington. The notices went up in South Wharf Road, suspending parking from April 9 to April 30 for an “event.” Palace officials will not reveal Kate’s due date apart from that it will be April (despite William saying on March 21 the baby was due “any minute now”), but it has been reported to be anytime from April 23 to April 29. When Kate gave birth to Prince George in 2013 and Princess Charlotte in 2015, the
official No Parking signs outside the hospital went up more than two weeks before she gave birth. The preparations at the hospital clearly scuttled rumours that the duchess had opted for a home birth for her third child.
In the lead-up to her delivery day, the duchess has squeezed in as many royal engagements as possible before being immersed in the all-consuming world of caring for a newborn. Having recovered several months earlier from the severe morning sickness she also suffered with her previous pregnancies, Kate, 36, ramped up the workload this year, including a royal tour to Norway and Sweden with Prince William in January. “She doesn’t play the sympathy card,” says an observer. “She just got on with it.” With “William in denial” about the April arrival of their third baby, according to a joking duchess, the couple have devoted as much quality time with George, 4, and Charlotte, 2, as they can. During a low-key visit to the private Hurlingham Club in London, the royal parents enjoyed a tennis lesson before sharing lunch with their children (a plate of pasta for George). The little royals are “both excited for the new baby to come,” says a friend, adding, “Charlotte, as the youngest, may find it hard.”
Following on from their break with tradition when Charlotte was born, the couple are expected to announce their new arrival via Twitter, revealing the baby’s gender, weight and time of birth, followed by an official notice posted on an easel in the Buckingham Palace forecourt. And it’s those details that have the British public in a betting frenzy, flooding agencies with their wagers on the infant’s name, gender and due date. The earlier top pick of Mary for a girl has been bumped for Alice, while a late run on Philip for a boy has edged out Albert. “Punters are convinced the Duke and Duchess are expecting another little girl,” said Jessica Bridge of betting house Ladbrokes. “Obviously, it would be a lovely touch to honour Her Majesty’s Grandmother [Queen Mary].”
With the possibility of the baby arriving on the couple’s seventh wedding anniversary on April 29, the milestone will be extra special. Said Harry Aitkenhead of bookmaker Coral, “There’s a real chance that the couple could be blessed with the dream present on the day.”