TENSION OVER BABY NO. 3
William & Kate
Prince William and Kate Middleton were at an event in Warsaw, Poland, on July 17, when she was handed a stuffed animal designed to comfort newborns. “We will just have to have more babies,” Kate said, as onlookers chuckled.
But William’s not laughing. Just a few hours later, the couple were seen having an unusually tense exchange as they left their Warsaw residence. Life & Style has exclusively learned that the royals have been arguing over expanding their brood — and they could no longer hide the strain in public. “Tension has been simmering for some time,” says a royal insider, “and it came to the surface under the pressure of a royal tour.”
Kate has always wanted three kids. “Coming from a family of three herself, she thinks it’s the perfect number,” says the insider. But now William wants to slam on the brakes. “He’s quite happy with a boy and a girl,” the insider notes. Fatherhood is harder than he imagined. George, 4, and Charlotte, 2, “are both at ages where they can’t sit still so they run around all over the place,” says a source. Though
they have a nanny, William and Kate, both 35, “are determined to be handson parents,” notes the source. “So there’s never a quiet moment.”
ANOTHER DISAGREEMENT
There were other sources of tension between the couple on their five-day European tour. Kate wanted to bring the kids along, the insider says, “but William was worried it might be too much for them.” He appears to have been right: George was spotted looking absolutely miserable at the Berlin airport on July 19.
The duo will face more stress as they take on extra duties for the aging Queen Elizabeth II, 91, and retiring Prince Philip, 96. “When I spoke to Kate at a reception about 18 months ago,” royal author Phil Dampier tells Life & Style, “she jokingly said, ‘If I got pregnant again now, I think William would be out the door!’” Jokes aside, friends don’t think the marriage is going to end and wouldn’t be surprised if William eventually agrees to have another baby. But for now, says the insider, “he just feels they have enough on their plate already.”