A St James’ Palace spokesman confirmed that ‘Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are delighted to confirm they are expecting a baby in July,’ which seems to silence speculation that Kate may have been carrying twins.
This speculation came following the Duchesses bout of hyperemesis gravidarum, which causes severe vomiting during pregnancy and is more often experienced by women expecting a multiple birth. This condition occurs mostly in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and as the news has been announced, it is now believed that Kate has now had her 12-week scan and she is around 14 weeks pregnant. As she is now entering her second trimester, the palace spokesman confirmed that ‘The Duchesses condition continues to improve since her stay in hospital last month’ and Kate is likely to return to her engagements ‘in the near future’.
According to Sky News Royal Correspondent Paul Harrison, ‘July fits in with a lot of speculation recently – if you consider that you don’t generally announce your pregnancy until 14 weeks. Kate and William had to because she was admitted to hospital in early December. It sits perfectly for a mid-July birth’.
It is traditional for a month, but no specific date, to be announced for a royal pregnancy, and was done so for Prince William and Prince Harry, but it has been speculated that the new prince or princess could end up sharing a birthday with William’s mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, who was born on July 1.
In the meantime, the Queen has ensured that if William and Kate have a daughter, she will automatically be entitled be a princess, which would not have been the case in the past. Only a son would have been dubbed a prince immediately, with any daughters being entitled as Lady and not known as Her Royal Highness. However, the Queen has remedied this by issuing a Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm declaring: ‘All the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales should have and enjoy the style, title and attribute of royal highness with the titular dignity of Prince or Princess prefixed to their Christian names or with such other titles of honour.’