Will & Kate’s baby surprise
As the young royal family face big changes, Kate and Will surprised the world with news they’re expecting baby No 3
LESS than two months ago the Duchess of Cambridge was given a cuddly toy while on a royal tour of Poland and Germany. Turning to her husband, she laughed and said, “We’ll just have to have more babies.” And now look! That little teddy is going to have a baby to cuddle it in six or seven months’ time.
The news that William and Kate are expecting their third child was received with a collective sigh of happiness in a world beset by trauma and turbulence. Finally something positive to concentrate on – a break from Brexit, Donald Trump, nuclear missiles and terrorism.
And we hadn’t been expecting a thing. After the Cambridges wed, royal watchers were on tenterhooks waiting for the announcement of the first pregnancy. Then George was here and the wait was on for his sibling. Charlotte arrived and William and Kate had their perfect pigeon pair. Anything more would be a bonus – and that’s just what we’re getting.
Everyone’s thrilled, especially greatgranny Queen Elizabeth who’s “delighted” at the news, the palace said in the official announcement.
Making the baby announcement rather poignant is that it came less than a week after the world commemorated the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana’s death. Now there will be a third grandchild she’ll never see.
Poor Kate is suffering from the debilitating morning sickness that plagued her when she was expecting George and Charlotte.
“As with her previous pregnancies, The Duchess is suffering from hyperemesis gravidarum,” the palace statement said, adding she has had to cancel the engagement she had scheduled for the Hornsey Road Children’s Centre in London as a result. “The Duchess is being cared for at Kensington Palace.”
It isn’t clear exactly how far along Kate is, although some reports have speculated it’s less than 12 weeks. But it’s likely she was already pregnant on the family’s mid-year tour when she made her baby joke.
Still, she showed no sign of slowing down on the tour, keeping up with the relentless pace of appearances, even taking her husband on in a boat race in Germany – and raising a glass of German beer after the fact.
HAPPY though the baby news is, it’s safe to say it’s probably not the best time for Kate to be pregnant, particularly if she’s going to be out for the count for a while with morning sickness. Apart from a busy official calendar, William and Kate are in the thick of migrating their family from their country bolthole, Anmer Hall in Norfolk, to their 22-bedroom apartment at Kensington Palace in London.
On top of all that, it’s a pivotal time for little George (4), who’s just started “big school”. Until now, the third in line to the throne had been attending Westacre Montessori in Norfolk – and Kate has already said she’s not sure George “has any idea what’s going to hit him” when he moves to Thomas’ Battersea in south London.
The prince joined one of three reception classes on 7 September and will stay at the school until he’s 11 or 13.
The school, a 40-minute drive from the family’s new Kensington Palace home, is attended by 540 boys and girls aged between four and 13. When it was announced George would be attending Thomas’, other parents at the school received an official email from the school.
“They’d like, as far as is possible, for him to enjoy the same education that all of our pupils receive and for them to join the school community as all of our new parents do,” it read.
To help George fit in, his classmates and teachers have reportedly been asked to refer to him as George Mountbatten-Windsor. “He’ll not go by the Cambridge name or a royal title,” a royal insider revealed, adding that the prince’s mom and dad will be on drop-off duty themselves wherever possible. “William and Kate are doing all that they can to ensure it’s a smooth start for George.”
Luckily for the little prince, there’ll be a familiar face in the uniformed masses – his cousin, four-year-old Maud Windsor, daughter Lord Frederick Windsor and his wife, Sophie Winkleman.
According to friends it was a tough decision, but Wills and Kate chose co-ed Thomas’ over all-boys Wetherby (which both William and Harry attended) so Charlotte could join her big brother there when she’s old enough. The school also boasts its own kindergarten, which Charlotte could enrol at as early as November. And of course the prince and princess’ new little sibling will eventually go there too.
WHILE George adapts to his prep school, little Charlotte is going to have a major adjustment period of her own. A new young sibling on the way, an unfamiliar house and the absence of her older brother are likely to affect the little princess.
The latter might be particularly tough for the tot, given how attached she is to her big brother. She loves playing with him, a source close to the family reveals. “He’s very protective of her, but they still like a bit of a rough and tumble.”
Charlotte, who’s due to start preschool in 2018, is clearly a mommy’s girl too. A Middleton insider told Us Weekly that Charlotte is so attached to her mom that Kate once joked, “Mummy has a shadow.”
“Wherever Kate goes, so does Charlotte. As she’s home more than George, Charlotte spends more time ‘helping’ with things. Whenever the housekeeper or Kate are preparing food, Charlotte needs her own little toy set by her side to imitate.”
Charlotte will have to get used to the idea she isn’t the baby of the family anymore when her brother or sister arrives – never an easy time for any kid.
With William hanging up his East Anglian Air Ambulance pilot’s uniform to become a fulltime royal, it made sense for the family to move from their rural retreat on the queen’s Sandringham Estate to the British capital.
The 91-year-old monarch is lightening her royal load and the Duke of Edinburgh (96) is stepping out of public life altogether, so William and his wife of six years have agreed to take on more royal duties. Now the couple and their kids will be conveniently housed at Kensington Palace.
It’s been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century and also home to Prince Harry, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and Prince and Princess Michael of Kent.
While parts of the sprawling grounds are open to the public, the Cambridges’ Apartment 1A – which isn’t really an apartment at all – won’t be.
The 22-room unit is spread across four floors, so energetic Charlotte and her brother will be spoilt for choice for rooms to romp in and there’ll be plenty of space for the new baby to learn to crawl and walk in months and years to come. On top of that, fun Uncle Harry lives just next door so the royal rug rats will have another playmate on hand.
No doubt Harry (31) will be happy to help out when No 3 arrives – particularly since Kate’s parents, Carole (62) and Michael (68) Middleton, will no longer be up the road to lend a hand. The Middletons would often take their grandkids on outings or spend weekends with the family to lighten the load. Now the role of doting grandparents will fall to Prince Charles (68) and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall (70), who weren’t often able to make the 185km trek out to the country to visit the grandkids.
Also conveniently nearby is St Mary’s Hospital, where Kate gave birth to George in 2013 and Charlotte in 2015 – and where she’ll probably choose to bring her third bundle of joy into the world.