William and Catherine Expecting their First Baby - Pregnant Kate in Hospital

A very special Royal baby has been announced!  At just before 4PM on the afternoon of 3rd December 2012, St James' Palace issued a statement that Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant, expecting her first child.  The announcement was after Catherine had been admitted to King Edward VII private hospital in central London as a precaution, due to her suffering from an acute form of morning sickness known as Hyperemesis Gravidarum.  It is quite rare to have such a degree of sickness so early in the pregnancy.  In fact, this particular illness only afects around 1% of women during pregnancy. Symptoms include difficulty in keeping food or drink down, resulting in dehydration and a shortnesss of vitamins. 

The severe vomiting that Kate is suffeing from is believed to have started a couple of days before Kate's admission to hospital.  She is expected to remain there for several days to rest and allow doctors to ensure that she is properly hydrated.  Following this she is likely to need a long period of rest outside hospital, then to only participate in minimal public engagements for the next few months until the baby is born.

It is believed that Kate is around 8 or 9 weeks into her pregnancy. Normally Royal pregnancies would only be declared after around 12 weeks, but Catherine's illness and hospitalisation appears to have brought forward the announcement.    

William drove Kate to the hospital after they had spent the weekend with Catherine's family in Berkshire.  He spent the day at the hospital with her before leaving his wife in the capable hands of the doctors and nurses in the evening.

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, described the announcement of the Royal baby as absolutely wonderful news and said that he was delighed for them and was sure they will make absolutely brilliant parents.  He was sure that everyone around the country would be celebrating with them.

Opposition leader Ed Milliband tweeted that this is wonderful news which the whole country would be thrilled at.  He and his wife, Justine wished William and Kate their warmest congratulations.

William and Catherine's baby will be Queen Elizabeth II's third great-grandchild, and will be Prince Charles' first grandchild.  Both the Queen and Prince Charles were only told of the pregancy on the same day as the news was released to the public. William's brother, Prince Harry, who is away with the Army in Afghanistan was informed by email that he is to become an uncle.

The Royal baby will be third in line to the throne, coming behind Prince Charles and Prince William.  This is regardless of  whether it's a boy or girl, due to an agreement by the British Commonwealth a year earlier in 2011 that the system known as  male primogeniture would be scrapped,  Eventually therefore it is likely that this Royal baby will be King or Queen of England in the future.

Just before the weekend, on Friday 30th November 2012, Catherine was looking healthy and full of zest as she enjoyed a spot of hockey in high heeled boots when she returned to visit St Andrew's  preparatory school in Berkshire where she had studies as a pupil fo 9 years when she was younger.  Two days earlier, whilst they were touring Cambridge, William was presented with a Baby-Gro enscribed with the phrase "Daddy's Little Co-Pilot" even though news of the pregnancy had not been announced by then.  

Speculation about a baby for William and Catherine has actually been rife ever since shortly after their wedding in April 2011.  At the beginning of November 2011, Kate declined to taste a sample of peanut paste at a UNICEF aid centre in Denmark. Rumours abounded about a possible baby, as pregnant mothers had been advised not to eat nuts in case their unbornchild has a nut allergy.  Suggestions continued when Catherine chose to drink water rather than wine at a toast during their William and Kate's tour of Asia and South Pacific countries in September 2012.   

Now that we know a baby is definitely on the way, the question will be what will be the name of the little prince or princess?  Maybe they should try out the Baby Name Meaning and Suggestion Generator at BabySafetyGate.com for a few ideas!