Expected: Kate's due date was widely reported as being Saturday, July 13, but reports today said the due date might actually be today
The world has been impatiently waiting for the royal baby to arrive, but it was claimed today the Duchess of Cambridge might not be overdue after all.
Kate’s due date was widely reported as being last Saturday, July 13, but it has now been suggested that the official due date is actually today.
The world's press has been camped outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London for a fortnight to ensure they don't miss her arriving.
And social media is continually awash with rumours that she has gone into labour.
But the only confirmation from Kate has been that she was due in ‘mid-July’, and last night a source claimed she was actually given today’s date.
This means the baby could arrive as far away as August 2, because expectant mothers are only usually induced if the baby is two weeks late.
The Royal source said: ‘A small number of staff at St Mary’s who might be called upon when the Duchess gives birth were told they had to remain teetotal for a month before the due date.’
Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, they added: ‘They were told the due date was July 19.’
William and Kate's private office at Kensington Palace has refused to confirm the Duchess's exact due date, although Kate herself let slip during a public walkabout earlier this year that it is 'mid-July'.
William was said to have had a few days off from his job as an RAF Search and Rescue pilot in Wales this week, which he was thought to have spent with his wife at their Kensington Palace residence.
Kate, 31, stayed at the home of her parents Carole and Michael Middleton in Berkshire last weekend, while William played in two long-standing charity polo matches.
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Waiting game: The world's press has been camped outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London for a fortnight, and social media is continually awash with rumours that she has gone into labour
The Duchess of Cornwall dropped a tantalising hint on Monday that the wait could soon be over, telling well-wishers she expects the little boy or girl to arrive imminently.
Camilla revealed during a visit to a children's hospice near St Austell, Cornwall: 'We are all just waiting by the telephone. We are hopeful that by the end of the week he or she will be here.'
However, on Wednesday the Queen appeared to suggest that the baby was already late.
She told a 10-year-old schoolgirl on a trip to Cumbria: 'I would very much like it to arrive because I’m going on holiday soon... I wish it would hurry up.'
LIVE: NEWS ON THE ROYAL BABY AS IT HAPPENS
Thrilled: Fay Batey (left) asked the Queen: 'Would you like the baby to be a boy or a girl?' To which the Queen replied she would like the royal baby to 'hurry up' before she goes off on holiday to Balmoral a week today
Magic moment: Fay Batey, 10, (with her back to the camera) asks the Queen her question whether she would like the Royal baby to be a boy or a girl on her trip to Cumbria
Outside the hospital are scores of people from all over Britain and the world, who are waiting for the royal arrival.
Pat and Norman Bate took two months to get to St Mary’s Hospital, Paddington because the retired fruit and veg merchants travelled from their Liverpool home to London via Britain’s canal network at four mph.
Their 55ft canal boat Ellie May, is moored just behind the royal hospital, filled with bagfuls of cards and presents for the baby, and its cabin draped with bunting.
‘As soon as we heard Kate was pregnant, I said that we should aim to get there for the birth, so we left home on May 1,’ Mrs Bate said.
‘And we hope to be here as long as it takes. After all, we’re not paying for a hotel.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2370035/Royal-baby-date-Claims-Duchess-Cambridge-NOT-overdue.html#ixzz2ZVqwOJUg
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