This time it’s true — Kate Middleton is pregnant!

The Duchess has been in the news many times for false pregnancy rumours.

Poor Kate and William started rubbishing pregnancy rumours soon after (and a little before) they tied the knot last year in April. The obsession with “is she, isn’t she?” soared to new heights when the British press started to speculate that the Duchess was pregnant last year when she wore some ill-fitting dresses. In 2010, before Kate was even married to Prince William, rumours circulated that she is expecting his baby.  In September 2011, Star magazine reported that the Duchess was expecting twins, and later in November, In Touch magazine reported a confirmation on the pregnancy — which turned out to be false. But that wasn’t the end of it; in June this year, In Touch incorrectly reported once again that the royal couple was expecting and will name the baby after late Princess Diana. 

On Monday, however, Their Royal Highnesses, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge officially announced that Kate is about eight weeks pregnant.



While the official confirmation has come from Buckingham Palace, the rumours have not stopped. From pregnancy speculations, the tabloids have now shifted to obsessing over multiple births and baby names. Here are more speculations and question:

The couple conceived in Asia

It is reported that Middleton was photographed drinking nothing but water on her trip to Asia in September (did she already know then?). Star magazine also pointed out a little baby bump when she wore a printed dress at the couple’s Singapore stopover. The Huffington Post speculates that Middleton actually conceived 12 weeks ago (talk about being specific!).

Who are the godparents?

Majesty magazine’s managing editor Joe Little told the Daily Mail, the siblings of the couple will be chosen as the godparents. “They won’t have quite so many [godparents as William had] — perhaps four. Harry would take care of the royal connection and Pippa would take care of the Middleton side.”

Baby names

An inside connection to the royal family, Sam Haskell told reporters at Extra that Diana is on top of the couple’s list of the baby’s names. “As a royal heir, there will be four names. I would guess Diana could be in there,” He said, adding that Elizabeth and Mary can also be the likely choices. Haskell also made a point that the Prince’s late mother Diana had changed the way royal children are raised. It will be different now because of her.

More than one

Besides the worries of choosing godparents and names, according to the press, Middleton should also plan for raising twins now. Reports have also surfaced that the Duchess is suffering from severe morning sickness since she conceived, which requires supplementary hydration and nutrients. She is currently being treated by doctors at King Edward VII Hospital. Dr Nancy Cossler, an OB/GYN at University Hospitals in Ohio, told ABC News that hyperemesis grayidarum is thought to come on because of extra human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) in the system, which is slightly more common when a mother is carrying twins.



The heir to the throne

So if Middleton is having twins, which one will be the future heir? “The question of twins is an interesting one when you are talking about Royal succession. It has never arisen [sic] before,” one constitution expert told The Huffington Post. “The first twin born would be the heir no matter if it were a boy or girl given the new rules — until now it was always the first boy that was first in line,” he added.

The only thing that is now left to predict is whether Middleton will have a natural birth or a Cesarean.

We wish the royal couple less drama and lots of luck!

Here are some Twitter reactions to the news of Middleton’s pregnancy:

”How the hell is Kate Middleton pregnant? She’s weight criteria for anorexia, the woman should be having a cake not a baby.

”I can’t believe Kate Middleton is in hospital for morning sickness, every pregnant women gets it, she’s not going to die

”Yeah, it’s great that’s Kate Middleton is pregnant but it doesn’t need to be splashed over the news all day, every day. Leave the girl alone.

”So Kate Middleton is pregnant. I thought that it was government policy to discourage people who don’t work from having kids.

”Do the paparazzi really need to camp outside the King Edward VII hospital to stalk Kate Middleton? She’s pregnant and doesn’t need the stress

”The bookies are already taking bets on Will and Kate’s baby names. What do you think the royal baby should be called?

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2012.            

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