The Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant with her third child and the royal guessing games have begun. Gender, weight, name and hair colour are all already topics of discussion with bookies offering odds on all sorts of royal baby guesses. Like the previous Cambridge pregnancies, the information we have right now is rather limited but we can start to put together a picture of Kate's latest great expectations. Here are five things we already know about #RoyalBabyCambridge number three...
1. Fifth in line to the throne
This one is set in stone. Baby Cambridge number three will be fifth in line to the throne from birth. New succession laws which do away with gender preference were brought in before the arrival of Prince George and it means that William and Kate's third child will follow their grandad Prince Charles then dad, big brother, George and big sister, Charlotte, in the succession regardless of whether they are a boy or a girl. The birth of a boy would mean Charlotte becoming the most senior royal yet to benefit from the changes, writing her name in the history books as the first princess in direct line to the throne not to be automatically overtaken by a boy.
2. A spring baby
We don't yet know the Duchess of Cambridge's due date and we will probably never find out as Kensington Palace didn't announce exactly when George or Charlotte was expected and there's no reason to change third time round. But we can do some sums here. Kate has, once again, begun experiencing Hyperemesis Gravidarum, an extreme form of morning sickness, which has made her so ill she has had to announce her pregnancy well before the 12 week date usually chosen as she has been forced to cancel engagements. But it also gives us a clue or two. Clarence House confirmed Kate was expecting for the first time on December 3rd 2012 and George was born on July 22nd 2013, a gap of eight months. Her second pregnancy was confirmed on September 4th 2014 and Charlotte was born on May 2nd 2015, another eight month gap. So September 4th 2017 means we'll likely meet baby Cambridge number three around the end of April 2018.
3. An eight pounder
The Duchess of Cambridge has really upped the Royal Family's average when it comes to birth weights. Prince George weighed in at 8lbs 6oz while Princess Charlotte tipped the scales at 8lbs 3oz, both big babies for the House of Windsor which has seen several seven pounders in its day. It makes it extremely likely that baby Cambridge number three will be over eight pounds and we can be all but sure the scales that weigh them will be at the Lindo Wing at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington where Kate had George and Charlotte.
4. Three names for a prince or princess
William and Kate chose three names for their first two children making it all but confirmed that their third baby will also get a trio of monikers to carry through life. The latest baby expected at Kensington Palace will definitely be an HRH (again, thanks to a law change brought in before the birth of Prince George) and they will be known as Prince X or Princess X of Cambridge.
5. Sixth great grandchild for the Queen
Unless Kate is expecting twins or triplets, we also know for sure that the Queen will become a great grandmother for the sixth time in 2018. Baby Cambridge number three will be her sixth great grandchild. She has four great granddaughters (Savannah Phillips, 6, Isla Phillips, 5, Mia Tindall, 3 and Princess Charlotte, 2) and just the one great grandson (you already know this bit, it's four year old Prince George) right now but will see her considerable dynasty stretch just a little bit further into the future when Royal Baby Cambridge number three arrives.
Photo credit: Kensington Palace Twitter/ Wiki Commons/ Royal Family Instagram
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