Britain's long national nightmare is finally over: Kate Middleton is officially with child. According to the palace, the pregnancy is in its "very early stages." The news was likely confirmed because Middleton was taken to the hospital today with hyperemesis gravidarum, an acute morning sickness. She'll be laid up for a few days. Meanwhile, the whole royal family is "delighted with the news."Here's why we saw it coming. (Note: this article was originally published on Nov. 30.)
1. The bets. The most recent clue, relevant for those who believe the market usually gets it right, is that British bookmakers have suspended betting on whether Kate will have a baby in 2013 after taking a number of large bets in recent days. Bookmaker Coral has suspended betting on the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge having their first child in 2013, while Paddy Power tells the Royalist they have cut their odds to 1/6 (ie you bet $6 you get $1 in profit if you are right.)
David Stevens, of Coral, said: "We cut the odds to 1-4 and then again to 1-8, at which point we decided to suspend the betting. If the money talks, 2013 will see a new addition to the Royal family."
2. The fuller face. No-one has claimed Kate is actually showing a baby bump yet, but there is a definite hint of 'preg-face' as it is customarily known on these shores creeping into the royal visage. Kate looks a little bit rounder, and it’s not just the new fringe playing tricks on the eye.
3. The fringe. Speaking of the hair, there is heaps of chatter on twitter and in the UK papers speculating that the new hair cut is either a distraction technique to draw attention away from the tummy area or a hormonally–charged decision to make changes across the board. Plus, it's kind of a maternal cut. We say, about 12 weeks.
4. The tip-off. A source told the Royalist that Kate was pregnant a few months back, but that the royal couple were planning not to announce the news until they had no choice.
5. The baby gro. We’re just not buying the line that William accepted a babygro with the words, "Daddy's co-pilot" on it from a crowd member out of pure politeness. I mean, he may well have done, but why would he have commented, “I’ll keep that,” unless he had a a baby on the way himself?
6. The water. Expectant moms are advised to avoid alcohol, and dads often go along for the ride these days. William and Kate were on the water wagon again at a recent dinner to raise money for their old university St Andrews. This followed two occasions on their recent royal tour of the South Pacific where they made the unprecedented move of making the royal toast with water.
7. The hands in front of the tummy. Kate often stands with her hands clasped before her, but to do so while walking up steps is pretty weird, right?
8. The new house. Nesting is a big part of preparing for your first baby, and William and Kate have been hard at work sorting out their new digs in Kensington Palace. The couple are expected to move into palatial apartment 1A, former home of Princess Margaret, when Harry comes back from Afghanistan in January so that Harry can move into the cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace they are currently occupying. Yes, it has a nursery.
9. The new job. William has not confirmed whether or not he is continuing in the RAF however the fact that the young royals are setting up a mini-court in Kensington Palace – a dozen or so staff are relocating there from St James’s Palace - and expanding their team by hiring a new press officer is inevitably amping up speculation is William is planning on leaving the airforce to focus on being a full time royal.
10. The Statement of Intent. It is of course implicit in being and marrying a monarch that you wish to have children, but the young royals spelt it out anyway in an ITN interview for their engagement.
Kate said, “I hope we will be able to have a happy family ourselves,” which prompted the interviewer to ask, “People are bound to ask, do you want lots of children?”
William replied, “I think we’ll take it one step at a time. We’ll sort of get over the marriage first and then maybe look at the kids. But obviously we want a family so we’ll have to start thinking about that.”
11 The big grins. I mean, look at these smiles in Cambridge the other day. You’re telling me these two aren’t sharing a happy secret?