Maybe she was just hungry, but Kate Middleton’s repeated touching of her stomach in Copenhagen last week has sparked rumours she is pregnant with her first child.
The 29-year-old Duchess of Cambridge rested a protective hand on her tiny belly no fewer than a dozen times during her Danish visit on Wednesday.
In pictures: William and Kate meet Mary and Frederik
Dressed in a scarlet coat with matching belt, Kate and William joined Denmark’s Princess Mary and Prince Frederik to tour a UNICEF warehouse.
Kate couldn’t stop touching her stomach, and added further fuel to the pregnancy rumours when she refused to taste a peanut paste used to treat malnourished children in East Africa.
Mary, Frederik and William all tasted the paste, but when it was Kate’s turn, she shot a “knowing look” at her husband before politely declining.
It is recommended pregnant women avoid peanuts in case it triggers a deadly allergy in their unborn child.
A palace spokesman refused to comment on whether Kate was pregnant, but an unnamed aide confirmed that the duchess did not have an allergy to nuts or peanuts herself.
“There was no reason for her not tasting it, she does not have an allergy,” the aide told the UK’s Daily Mail.
“It was very odd,” one onlooker told the newspaper. “Kate would not stop touching her tummy — it was very noticeable. She continually patted it and held her hands against it.
In pictures: Love is in the heir for William and Kate
“She must have been doing it without realising, and at one point she had both her hands cradling her stomach.
“Her coat was also rather large. It looked loose below her waist, so she might well have been trying to hide something.”
Your say: Do you think Kate is pregnant, or just touching her stomach for another reason?
Video: Kate meets Mary