The Royalist was brought up to believe that it’s impolite to comment on a lady’s appearance, especially the - how can we put this delicately - fullness of a woman’s figure.
Alas, such genteel considerations of British politesse are going to have to go out of the window today, in the cause of the national interest, because Kate’s appearance at the National Portrait Gallery this morning, has rekindled the ultimate hot potato question in royal circles right now – has Kate got a bun in the oven?
I’m going to state this as plainly as I can and I hope I don’t offend anyone because that is never the Royalist’s intention; I think Kate’s boobs are looking bigger. It might just be the cut of the £500 Stella McCartney dress (it 'embodies easy luxury with it's minimalist silhouette’ according to the Selfridges website) but I do believe I also detect a pregnancy-like proto bump on her admittedly rather slender body, poring through the pictures of today’s outing.
In several shots she has her hands held over her tummy, or clasped in front of her abdomen, and earlier this month, at the Order of the Thistle inauguration in Scotland, she held a bag over her tummy when photographers were around.
Friends of the Young Royals say that there is no secret about the fact that William and Kate would dearly like to get pregnant, and are actively trying for a baby.
Although one can well understand why Kate finds the constant attention on her body and pregnancy status unsettling, she does, friends say, accept that it goes with the territory when you marry a future King.William and Kate have also, perhaps unwisely, allowed themselves to be drawn into commenting on the issue themselves.In their enagagement interview with ITN, 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.”Of course, while there are many old-schoolers in the palace who think a boy would be more than nice, one silver lining is that Kate is not under the pressure that many wives of aristocratic men are to produce a male heir.
A recent change in the laws of succession means that should Kate’s first-born child be a girl, she will inherit the throne, not lose out to a younger male child.
Stories that WillKat held off getting pregnant for fear of a pregnancy ‘overshadowing’ the Diamond Jubilee or the Olympics are dismissed by pals as pure speculation.
Kate’s only 30, so there’s plenty of time, but there are not exactly decades to play with either.
Could it be, could it be?