Kate Middleton has announced she is expecting her first child with Prince William.
The palace confirmed the Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant in a statement released earlier today.
“Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that the Duchess of Cambridge is expecting a baby,” the palace said in a statement.
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“The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and Prince Harry and members of both families are delighted with the news.”
Confirmation came as Kate was rushed to hospital suffering acute morning sickness earlier in the day.
“As the pregnancy is in its very early stages, Her Royal Highness is expected to stay in hospital for several days and will require a period of rest thereafter,” the palace confirmed.
Her due date is not known, nor is the sex of the baby.
It is the first child for William and Kate, who married in a lavish ceremony in London’s Westminster Abbey in April 2011, and speculation over the couple’s first pregnancy has been rife ever since.
William and Kate are currently living between their rented farmhouse in Anglesey, Wales, and a two-bedroom cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace while they wait for their new Kensington Palace family home to be ready.
They are spending $1.6 million renovating Princess Margaret’s lavish four-storey 20-room apartment, which comes complete with its own private walled garden and a full nursery.
The apartment has been uninhabited since Margaret died in 2002 and needs extensive work to make it habitable again. They are expected to move in, in early 2013.
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