Prince William and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, are expecting their third child, Kensington Palace said today.
The announcement comes as a surprise, as there had been little indication that William’s wife, the former Kate Middleton, was pregnant.
“The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news,” the palace said in a statement.
Their third child would be fifth in line to the British throne.
William, 35, is the eldest son of Prince Charles, the first in line to the throne, and the grandson of the Queen and Prince Philip.
As with her other two pregnancies, the duchess is experiencing severe morning sickness (hyperemesis gravidarum), so cancelled her engagements Monday. No word yet on her due date.
William and Kate arrive at the memorial garden in Kensington Palace in London on Aug. 30. Monday’s announcement from Kensington Palace that Kate is expecting their third child said the Queen is delighted. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press)
Kate is being cared for at Kensington Palace.
The couple, both 35, are parents to Prince George, 4, and Princess Charlotte, 2.
William and Kate board a plane to Hamburg, Germany, with George and Charlotte on July 21. Kensington Palace says the duchess again is dealing with severe morning sickness. (Christian Charisius/Associated Press)
From the time of their engagement, the royals have said that they wanted to have children — the only question was how many. Royal watchers recorded every aside for clues as to their plans.
When asked on a royal tour in Singapore in 2012 about how many children he wanted, William said he was “thinking about having two.”
More recently, during a royal tour of Poland, Kate joked about a third child when given a cuddly toy designed to soothe tiny babies.
Kate thanked the well-wisher for the present and turned to William. “We will just have to have more babies,” she joked.
Kate is the eldest of three siblings, while William’s only sibling is Prince Harry.
The royal couple can also be seen as following in the footsteps of Harry’s grandparents, who have four children.
